


The Skunk Maid [Sarah Route]

by SolamenteCelia



Series: Skunk Maid Universe [1]
Category: Furry (Fandom)
Genre: F/M, Furries, Skunks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:41:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 35,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21932389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolamenteCelia/pseuds/SolamenteCelia
Summary: In an alternate history olde Europe, humans and furreds live alongside each other. This story follows how one of those furreds, a skunk maid named Sarah, meets a wealthy young man named Jason, and what happens after.(Adapted from a roleplay)
Series: Skunk Maid Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652524
Kudos: 9





	1. The nightly routine

**Author's Note:**

> The first 16 chapters of this work are identical to the other in The Skunk Maid series on this account. In Chapter 17, the two routes finally diverge, one leading to a romance with Sarah and the other with Celia. Feel free to read up to 16 and then decide for yourself whom you think Jason should end up with, or just read both versions :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for a little visual aid, here’s an actual picture of me in my French maid outfit. Do what you like with it ;D
> 
> https://m.imgur.com/a/FoGg9VZ
> 
> As the chapters go on, I may add some more... revealing pictures.

"Goodbye, Master Gladstone!!" the skunk called from the manor's porch as she watched him ride off in his carriage toward the setting sun. Once he was safely out of sight, she turned around and walked back inside, where her master's son was eating the dinner she'd prepared.

"Master Jason?" she said as she walked into the dining room. "Your father has just left, so it will be just you and me for the next two or three weeks. If there's anything I can do for you to make the coming weeks even a little less dull, please let me know."

Jason was silently eating his food when she spoke to him, calmly looking up and giving the maid a slow nod. “OK, I’m going to go bathe now," he said as he stood from the dining room table. His plate was clean and the glass he drank from was empty.

She bowed and said, "Thank you, Master," despite the fact that there was nothing she was clearly thanking him for. "Shall I warm the water and fetch your soap?"

“Yes please," he said and began walking to the bathroom. His father was much ruder and more demanding of the woman. Jason didn’t take that approach as he didn’t like him. With his mother dying just a few years ago, he couldn’t help but blame that on his father as well. When he finally got to the bathroom he sat aside, waiting for the tub to be warm.

Celia entered the bathroom a moment later carrying a bar of soap and set it on the counter for him. "The water is warming on the stove," she informed him before turning around and fetching pail after pail of cold water to fill the porcelain reservoir. Her intention was eventually to slowly add hot water from the stove to the cold water until the temperature was suitable for her master.

He nodded, taking his shirt and pants off before sitting idly in his underwear as he waited. He watched the maid as she walked around the room, entering and exiting with the bucket several times a minute.

She of course didn't mind that Master Jason was sitting back and watching her as she worked. That was supposed to be their entire dynamic, after all. A few minutes later, the bath was filled up with cold water. Celia then entered the bathroom carefully carrying a pot of steaming water. She began by adding about half of the pot's contents to the bath and stirring the water with her hand, keeping an eye out for any black fur that may fall off her and contaminate Jason's bathwater. Thankfully, none did. "What do you think of this temperature, Master?" she asked Jason as she took a step away from the tub.

He stood and dipped his hand in. The water was lukewarm, and just a tad warmer would be perfect. “Just warm it up a little more," he said as he took a step back, taking off his underwear to be completely naked now.

"Of course, Master," she said before adding some more hot water and stepping back so he could get in. She naturally directed her eyes well above his chest to prevent him from feeling like she was staring as he got into the tub.

Jason blushed softly as he took a step towards the tub, knowing Celia’s eyes were looking in his direction. He carefully stepping into the large porcelain tub, which was placed directly in the middle of the room.

Jason let out a soft hum as he lowered himself into the warm water. He looked over to Celia and at the soap she brought.

She handed Jason the bar of soap once he was comfortably in the tub. She mentally cursed herself for accidentally standing in a way such that she had a line of sight to his genitals. Of course, she saw his penis every night, but outside of the permitted context she didn't feel she ever should.

“Please get my sleeping garments while I wash," he said calmly to her as he dipped the soap into the water and started to rub it up and down his arms.

"Of course, Master," she said as she bowed again and left the room only to return a minute later with the specified garments.

By the time she came back, he was stood up, washing his chest and genitals, facing away from her. “Leave them and go, please," he said as he looked back at her.

"Yes, Master," she said as she turned to leave. "Shall I wait for you in your bedroom for our nightly routine?"

He nodded and continued to wash himself, dipping back down into the water as the soap suds washed off of him.

Celia went to Jason's room and started to apply lotion he had on his nightstand to her paws. Though the back of her paws were covered in thick, black fur, her palms were bare and quite comparable to human skin, even in color. She would wait for him to retire for the night, prepared to wait over an hour if he decided to take an extra long bath.

Jason shifted as he washed the rest of his body. Slowly rising out of the tub, he realized he hadn’t asked for a towel. Letting out a huff, he stepped out gingerly and went to the counter where he grabbed one and began to dry off.

Celia waited long enough that the lotion in her hands started to dry. Not wanting the sensation to be unpleasant for Jason, she applied some more.

Once he was dried off, he put on the clothes she had brought for him, headed out to his bed room, then calmly got into bed and lied back with a sigh.

"Are you comfortable, Master Jason?"

“Yes," he said quietly as he took notice of her paw, already lathered with the lotion. Blushing softly, he turned to look away from her.

"Well, let's get started, why don't we?" she said and nodded to his groin. She was expecting him to pull down his garments some so that she may have easy access. As weird as this almost always seemed to do each night, Celia knew that the physicians of the day advised this as the best way to keep young men healthy and happy.

He nodded and reached down, pulling the soft pants down to expose his genitals. He directed his gaze up at the ceiling.

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do to make this more pleasurable for you, Master." With that, she reached out her paw and began softly massaging his flaccid cock.

Jason stayed quiet, letting out a soft huff. His member started growing hard and slowly began to stand erect.

Once it was straight enough in shape, she took the dick in her paw and began slowly rubbing it up and down.

He held onto the bed sheets as she cared for his cock. It was warm to the touch, twitching in her grasp.

She picked up on his quickly growing excitement and, accordingly, picked up the rag she'd brought with her, ready to use it when necessary. She gradually increased the speed of her hand's movements, but was careful not to expose her claws to his vulnerable member.

He couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, small amounts of precum dribbling out from the young man's length.

"Is there anything I can do to make this more enjoyable for you, Master?" she asked him as she continued jerking.

“Th-that’s-“ He was cut off by his own orgasm, inhaling sharply and shooting his load off. He shut his eyes, not concerned about whether or not the cum was caught in Celia's rag.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she hurried to catch the semen in the rag. She didn't manage to do so before some landed in her hand's fur. She then held it atop his penis as she waited for him to finish. After a short while, she couldn't tell if he was still going or not, so she asked him, "Are you finished, Master?"

“Yeah... Yeah I’m fine now," he mumbled softly, his breathing was heavy as he lied back against the soft sheets of his bed. “Thank you...” He felt awkward telling her this as it was just a routine duty of hers, but he couldn’t help but say it.

"Of course, Master." She stood up and straightened out her maid outfit. "Anything else I can do for you before you sleep?"

“Just a glass of water," he muttered, reaching down to pull his pants back over his dick.

"Yes, sir." She left the room and returned a minute later with a glass. She set it down on his bedside table. "Will that be all, Master Jason?"

By the time she came back he was already asleep, his eyes shut and mouth slightly open as he breathed gently in his sleep.

"Oh," she whispered as she noticed she'd been trying to speak to a sleeping boy. The skunk extinguished the candle at his bedside and then pulled his sheets up to his chest so that he may sleep comfortably and warmly. Lastly, she held her hair back, leaned over him, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Master Jason," she whispered before heading out the room and shutting the door behind her.


	2. The plan

The next morning, Jason woke up without any real impetus to do so. Slowly rolling onto his side, he saw the glass of water, reached out to take it, and took a sip from it. Clearing his throat, he swung his legs out of bed.

He stopped to sniff the air for a moment, able to pick up on the smell of cooking meat from the floor below. Of course, in Celia's job description was to go to bed last and wake up first.

Jason smiled as he started to make his way downstairs. Breakfast was always his favorite meal, even though it was mostly the same thing every day.

Celia turned as she heard the stairs creak with the sound of her master's footsteps. "Good morning, Master Jason," she said to him with a bow. "Breakfast is almost ready."

Jason nodded, still smiling. He took a seat at the dining room table and watched Celia work in the kitchen.

A couple minutes later, Celia delivered a plate of breakfast food to the dining room table: two sausages, two eggs, and a biscuit cracked open and buttered on both sides. After setting it down in front of him, she said to Jason, "Anything else I can do for you, Master?"

He shook his head. “That’s all, thank you Celia.” The way he spoke seemed different to her. Jason never used to address the skunk by name. Seemingly he was in a much better mood since his father had left the house.

She was slightly thrown off by the way he spoke, but quickly reminded herself to act professional. She bowed again before saying, "If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen." She turned and headed into the other room, her huge, bushy tail gently swishing behind her from under her outfit's skirt as she walked.

His eyes stayed on her tail as she left, watching it swing back and forth. It looked soft, but he knew she used it to dust. She must’ve cleaned it of dirt all the time throughout the day. This thought then transitioned into memories long ago of clinging to his mother and gently toying with her long, soft hair. Shaking his head to clear him of all the thoughts as he started to eat, he stabbed the fork through one of the sausages and brought it to his mouth.

Funnily enough, Celia was in the other room removing dust from her tail just as Jason was thinking about it. She'd barely accumulated any in her dusting this morning. Thanks to the fact that she dusted every single day, she barely picked up any each time she made her rounds Still, there were occasionally some days she'd discover a shelf or a section of the home that she'd forgotten to dust off for some weeks, and on days like that her tail's white areas usually had more of a grey tint. At the moment, however, her tail was mostly clean as she sat by the stove and picked through the fluffy appendage with a comb. She remained by the stove just in case Jason wanted more breakfast, which he was known to request from time to time.

He was close to finishing his food after a few minutes of eating. As hi nibbled on the last biscuit, he called out to her, “Celia, can I have a glass of juice?"

"Of course," she said, setting down her comb and pouring him out a glass. She hoped he was referring to orange juice, as he didn't specify. But what else would the boy be drinking for breakfast?

"Here you are," she said as she set it down in front of him.

“Thanks.” He picked it up and drank from the glass, trying to figure out what he should do today.

"By the way, Master," Celia spoke before leaving the room, "today's lesson will be on geometry."

‘Oh right... School...' he thought to himself. Nodding to what she said and finishing off the glass, he stood up and took his plate, fork, and glass to the kitchen.

Celia practically pounced on Jason as he tried to take the eating utensils to the kitchen himself. "Please," Celia said, "allow me to take those for you." She held out her paws to accept them.

“A-alright.” He gently handed them to her before stepping out of the kitchen. He headed over to the classroom and took a seat in front of the table.

After taking the items to the kitchen and rinsing them off, Celia joined Jason in the 'classroom', which was actually just one of the manor's living rooms that had been designated as the site where all Jason's schooling would take place. She brought with her a small stack of parchment and set it down on the coffee table before kneeling in front of it, facing Jason across the table.

Jason was on the couch on the opposite side of the table, looking down at her as she knelt. “You can just sit on the couch if you’d like.”

She looked around the room for a moment and saw that there was just one couch that he could be referring to. He was inviting her to sit next to him. "Oh, no," the skunk said quickly. "Master Gladstone would be furious if I got so comfortable with his son."

“Well my father isn’t going to be here for three weeks, so he isn’t going to find out.” He patted the couch, scooting over and making room for Celia.

"B-but..." she stopped herself from saying any more as she felt her knees, sore from kneeling there day after day. Celia looked up at Jason. "You promise me you won't tell him?"

“Mhm." He nodded with a smile.

Hesitantly, Celia stood up and joined Jason on the couch, though she sat just about as far away from him as possible.

He looked over at her and didn’t make a move to get any closer. “So… How come you decided to become a maid?” Jason asked, trying to get to know Celia better.

She chuckled. She hadn't expected him to say anything at all unrelated to the lesson, let alone ask a question about herself. "OK, Master Jason," she said, "I think I see what you're trying to do."

“Oh? What's that?” He chuckled and sat back against the couch, looking over at her with a grin.

"You're trying to procrastinate doing your schoolwork, Master Jason."

“Nooo, of course not! I just want to know why you became a housemaid.”

She sighed with a smile. "Well, I guess I can't refuse a request. If I answer some questions for you, then will you cooperate and do your work with me?"

“I guess. So, how come?” he asked, smiling now that she was too.

"It's a pretty common occupation for female skunks," she answered. "I have a sister who is, obviously, also a skunk, and she's a housemaid as well. Shortly after turning eighteen, I started seeking manors that would have me. After a couple years of floating between houses that weren't great fits, I encountered your father, who needed help taking care of the house as your mother was growing sicker."

He nodded. As she talked, he wondered why it was specifically a skunk's job. “How come it’s common for skunks to become housemaids?” His curiosity started to show as he kept his eyes locked onto the woman he was speaking to.

"Well, there are two big reasons why," she began. "First is that our tails are really bushy, making them excellent for dusting. Second is our ability to spray, making very few people willing to rob a house with a skunk maid. Also, our fur colors match the maid outfits, which is a nice little bonus," she chuckled.

“'Spray'? What's that mean?” he immediately asked her. Having spent his entire life in this house, never leaving for more than a day at a time, he wasn’t exposed to something like that. His eyes did quickly wander her body when she mentioned how her fur matched the outfit she wore.

She looked at him strangely. "You... don't know what it means for a skunk to spray, Master Jason?" All her life, Celia couldn't recall knowing even a single person who didn't treat her and the rest of her species with a degree of either respect, fear, or animosity thanks to her frightful ability. It was inconceivable to her that Jason, someone who'd spent so much time around a skunk, wouldn't know what she was talking about.

“No… I don’t think I do?” he said with a degree of concern in his voice. “What is it...?”

"Well... hm." After a short moment of thinking, she decided that the most direct, truthful option was her best one. "Skunks have a peculiar ability we can use to defend ourselves. When threatened, or when we need to defend property, such as this manor, we can... spray this very noxious fluid from our bodies at attackers. It smells extremely foul and clings to skin, fur, and clothing extremely well." She intentionally omitted where the noxious fluid came out of, deeming it too embarrassing.

“Oh that’s... interesting...” he muttered, clearly intimidated by his maid now that he knew that.

"B-but don't worry!" she quickly reassured him. "I would never spray unless I had a very good reason to. In fact, spraying an unconsenting party for any reason other than defense is strictly illegal. If I'm caught doing it even once, I can have my scent glands cut off, which will almost certainly lead to infection and kill me... So don't worry. I don't want to spray you at all, Master Jason."

He nodded. Though he still had a hint of concern on his face, it was clearly not as much as before. “OK… Do you enjoy being a housemaid?” Jason went on, still curious about his maid — and still wanting to postpone his schoolwork.

She shrugged. "It's quite alright. I get to take a day off once every two months, and the pay that I accumulate through working isn't bad either."

“Oh, alright… Was there anything else you wanted to do besides be a maid?”

"Oh, I had a few other ideas. But unfortunately skunks don't have a lot of options in this day and age." She sighed and looked down for a moment. "It's OK, though. I'm happy being a housemaid."

“Well I’m sure you could get something other than this if you really tried...” Jason said with a shrug.

She laughed. "Trust me, Jason, I did try. It just turns out that skunk women are only ever wanted as housemaids."

“Ah alright...” He chuckled softly and gave a nod, shifting on the couch and giving the parchment on the table a short glance.

"Is that all you wanted to ask, Master Jason?" Celia asked.

“I guess so.” He shrugged.

"Very well, Master," she said as she too focused her attention back on the paper. "Now, the sum of the angles in any quadrilateral is...?"

“360 degrees?” he said, sitting forward to pay attention to the paper.

"Correct!" she said cheerily. "And in a pentagon?"

“540?” Jason said. “So what does the spray smell like?” he asked out of nowhere.

She was just about to congratulate him on another question correctly answered when he suddenly asked the question. "Uhh..." she said uncomfortably. "In a word, awful. Unbearable. I don't even know what I could compare it to that you might've smelled before."

“So, worse than cutting onions?” he asked, trying to think of one of the most unpleasant experiences he'd ever had with smell.

She laughed. "Oh yes, Master Jason. Much worse. And the sting you get in your eyes from it is far, far more painful." She paused and let him process this information for a second. "Now, I don't mean to stand in the way of your curiosity — curiosity is definitely a good thing! — but shall we get back to your schooling?"

He sighed and shrugged. “Do we have to? Father won’t know if we don’t.”

"Yes, Master Jason, we must!" the skunk maid insisted. "However, if you think your mind will be distracted with other thoughts, I can answer some more questions for you until you are satisfied."

“Well… I don’t have any questions right now, but I’m sure I’ll have more later...”

"Well let's try to get those questions out of the way now, hm? I noticed you seemed a little surprised when I mentioned I have a sister."

“Oh! Well, what’s your sister like?” he asked, a smile growing on his face immediately.

"Well, she's my little sister. Probably just a year or two older than you, actually. I exchange letters with her pretty regularly. Actually, just last week I got word that she actually had to spray someone in the manor she tends to for her first time..."

“An intruder came in?" he asked her curiously. “What’s her name?”

"Her name's Sarah. And no, it wasn't exactly an intruder. The teenage daughter of her employer had a boyfriend over, and he started to get belligerent. I don't know if you want me to go on explaining..."

“Oh… I think I know what you mean," he said faintly.

Celia nodded. "As I understand it, she's actually under investigation now for unlawful spraying," Celia said sadly. "I hope the police see reason. I know she would never spray unless totally necessary."

“Hopefully...” he said. “How long has she been a housemaid?”

"That's maybe the saddest part," Celia said. "She's only been there for around eight months. And now, after not even a year of working, she may get de-scented. Even if she survives that procedure, she'll still lose most of her usefulness as a housemaid. I just really, really hope she's not found guilty..." The skunk quickly wiped her eye and looked away from Jason. She was clearly pained by the idea of losing her sister.

“Is there a way you can go as a character witness to her trial?” he asked her softly.

"I doubt it," she said. "The travel from here to her manor is at least a full day. And as I said, I only get one day off every two months. Even if I asked Master Gladstone to save up my days, it'll be too late by the time I collect enough."

“Well, _we_ can always go… He won’t be here to say otherwise,” Jason offered. “I’m sure we can have someone watch the manor while we’re gone?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. "W-what? No... No, Master would be furious if I took his son somewhere without his permission! I mean, you're eighteen so it wouldn't be illegal... but he'd still definitely have me fired, or worse... No." She stopped and thought for a moment. "I really, really appreciate the offer, Master Jason, but it's just not feasible. I doubt the testimony of a family member — one who's also a skunk — would hold any weight, anyway..."

“Well, maybe if the skunk has been in the business longer and is working for an esteemed member of society... I’m sure your testimony, along with testimony from the girl Sarah was protecting, it’d be a sure case,” Jason said, clearly concerned for her sister now that Celia had talked about her.

She stared into her lap and sighed before looking over to Jason. "...You're seriously offering right now? Like, this would be the nicest thing someone's ever done for me, and you just asked me about my personal life for the first time a few minutes ago."

Jason nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on Celia’s eyes. “I can’t live with all that on my mind now. So, yeah, that’s what I’d like to do while we have time by ourselves.”

Her tail slightly curled in delight behind her. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Master Jason!" she cheered before throwing herself at him in a tight hug. "I promise, I will never forget this great favor you have done for me! I am indebted to you, Master Jason!"

He blushed softly at the sudden display of happiness. This was probably the most emotion he’d ever seen her show, but he wasn't going to shy away from it. Not even being able to remember his last hug or any sign of love, he quickly hugged her back, holding the skunk just as tightly as she held him.


	3. The journey

A couple seconds later, Celia pulled away from him. "We need to pack!" she exclaimed. "Oh, u-unless you'd like me to go by myself? In fact, that probably makes more sense, actually..."

“No, I’d like to come with you. You’ll need some living proof of being the housemaid for my father after all.” He tried to hold onto the hug before she pulled off, sitting back up to try and look proper again.

"Right, o-of course," she spoke. "Does your father have a spare horse and carriage we can borrow? I suppose we can run to the local stables and check?"

“I believe there are, but check to be certain.”

She nodded to him. "I'll be back soon then."

“I’ll start to pack my things,” Jason said, standing up and heading to his room.

"Very well." She stood up off the couch and grabbed her long jacket to cover up her skimpy maid outfit some. "I'll be back shortly," she told Jason with a bow.

Jason nodded back at her. His eyes wandered her form for a moment before he turned back towards the hallway that led to his room. Taking a suitcase from his closet and setting it on his bed, he packed up a few changes of clothes. Taking a special garment bag, he put in it a suit and dress shoes for him to wear to the court hearing.

Celia returned about half an hour later. "Good news, Master Jason!" she called as she reentered the house. "Your father does indeed have a second horse and carriage. They just won't give it out to anyone who isn't a relative of his." She headed towards her own bedroom, which was originally just a storage closet that'd been stuffed with a bed and a small armoire shortly before her arrival those years ago.

“Good!” Jason said to her from the dining room, having set all his things by the front door. He waited for Celia to get ready so they could leave. Beyond happy that he could give her the courage and mindset to help her sister, as well as just plain glad to get out of the manor for any period of time.

A few more minutes later, Celia emerged from her room with a small suitcase full of what she'd need, including a copy of her contract to prove that she belonged to Master Gladstone. She'd also by now changed out of her maid outfit and was now wearing a medium-length skirt and a grey parka. "Boy, it feels weird to wear anything other than my maid outfit in this house, Master Jason," she said as she joined him in the hallway.

“Well you look nice wearing it,” Jason said, smiling back at her as his eyes quickly ran over her figure and what she was wearing. “I’ll go get the carriage. I’ll come back when it’s ready,” Jason said as he went outside toward the stables.

"Thank you, Master Jason," she said to him with a bow before taking his suitcase and hers outside and waiting for him to return.

After twenty minutes or so, Jason came back riding on the carriage, stopping it in front of the house where Celia was waiting. He waved at her before getting off, then took their suitcases and started loading them up.

"Oh, don't worry, I can carry those on!" Celia tried to say.

He didn’t let her words stop him as he loaded them onto the carriage. He opened the door and motioned her inside.

She sighed as Jason beat her to taking the belongings aboard. "You have everything you need, Master Jason?" she asked as she jumped inside.

“Mhm, just a few changes of clothes and a suit," he said. Jason climbed into the small, two-person carriage with a folding top with his maid, squeezing in next to her.

"Well, I'm ready to get going when you are."

Jason snapped the reins before sitting back for the long ride, ready to pull the leather ropes again when required to make a turn.

Celia wanted to relax and enjoy the ride, but just seemed to be too on-edge and unable to get herself to calm down. "I can't believe we're really doing this..." she whispered to Jason, keeping her voice low as if there were someone around to overhear her.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, “What’re you so worried about?”

"We're not supposed to be doing this!"

“Well we want to do it, so it’s fine.”

"But, Master Gladstone!" she said, referring to Jason's father.

“Just don’t let him find out what we’re doing," Jason said, getting somewhat of a rush from rebelling against his father's wishes.

"But what if he finds out some other way!" she whispers. "What if they report on Sarah's trial in the papers?"

“What we’re doing is of just cause, and I, your master, want to do it. A housemaid is to obey her master, so you’re just doing your job after all.”

Celia sighed and looked down. "Yes, Master..."

“I promise nothing will happen, you have my word.”

"Thank you, Master..." she said. "And really, I do appreciate your doing this for me."

“Well you made me want to do this, filling my conscience with worry.”

"Well, you didn't need to make it sound like it's all my fault I made you worry about me..."

“It is," he teased her with a soft chuckle.

"Oh no... " she moaned, dropping her head in her hands.

“It’s fine, I promise. I still want to do this myself.”

"But is it safe for you?" she asked as they rode. "I mean, you hardly ever leave the house. Have you ever even been to a big city?"

“Well I have you, don’t I? You can spray to protect us.”

"What, and risk getting deglanded myself?!" she asked him as if he were crazy.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Jason responded quickly.

"Then what did you mean?" she blurted out before reminding herself of her manners and Jason's superiority to her. "I- I'm sorry, Master Jason... I was thinking about my sister, and let my emotions get the better of me. I'll be quiet..."

“It’s fine… I just said that because you were concerned for my safety. I’ve got you here to protect me, and you’ve been out much more than I have.”

"Well... Just believe me, ok, you don't want me to spray. On top of the legal danger, you'd probably fall over coughing, so we wouldn't even be able to escape."

“Alright… Well, you’ve at least got claws.”

"That's true," she nodded. "If possible, that's probably the route we should take. Spraying is exclusively a last resort, just as I'm sure it was for my sister..."

“I’m more than certain it was," Jason said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Master..." she said softly and sniffled. She turned away from Jason and stared out the window.


	4. The first stop

The trip was expected to take about two days. The pair had been traveling in the carriage for about ten hours when the sun set and the town that laid between the manor and where the court case was to be held was in sight. The skunk had spent most of the daylight hours reading a law book she'd found in her master's study. However, thanks to just how enormous it was, she barely even read through the opening section about courtroom formalities and general practices.

They found themselves in a small but certainly lively village. It was used mostly by more elite members of society to stop in for a night as they made longer journeys, and the townsfolk conducted themselves accordingly.

Jason steered the carriage in front of a well-known inn, one that most uppity of people would no doubt be staying in. He stopped so that Celia could get out in front and start making the needed arrangements while he would tie up the horse and carriage behind the inn and then come to meet her in the lobby.

As Celia stepped out of the carriage, she found herself outside her manor's hometown for the first time in at least two years. She'd almost forgotten how to socialize with those outside of the Gladstone family. A short ways down the street, there were some drunkards stumbling between pubs or taverns. Closer by, some people were eating at outdoor restaurants.

Once inside, she walked to the front desk and started talking with the clerk. After a few minutes, she turned around to see Jason waiting for her. She walked over to him, a large, iron key in hand. "We're ready to go, Master."

He nodded to the hallway that was labeled ‘Rooms.’ “Lead the way," he said, picking their suitcases up.

As they walked down the hall, a man, apparently drunk, stumbled out of his room. "Evenin', darlin'," he slurred to Celia with an unsettling smile. She ignored him and walked on, keeping an eye out for a room labeled '17'.

Jason didn’t take notice of the room number but looked at the man with disgust as they walked past. “How can people let themselves act like that...?” He asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know, Master. Just alcohol, I suppose," she said before finally finding room 17. As she fiddled with putting the key in the keyhole, she continued, "Your father's acted like that with me a small number of times after he's drank too much."

“Did he ever… go any further than just that?” he asked. What she said gave him even more of a distaste for his father than he already had.

"Just a couple times," she said as the door finally came unlocked and she pushed it open. "It never got too bad, just a little uncomfortable." She led the way inside, where she found there was only one bed. "...Oh."

He walked in and put everything down in front of the bed. “Um… well it’s big enough at least.” Jason commented, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

"Of course," she said. "I'll take a blanket and sleep on the floor."

Jason didn’t hear what she had said while he was relieving himself in the bathroom. The soft splashing of his urine hitting the toilet water could be heard from outside the bathroom.

"Oh," she murmured before walking away from the bathroom to let Jason have his privacy. She then started pulling a sheet off the bed and laying it down on the floor.

Jason exited the bathroom a minute later. Back in the room, he saw Celia placing a blanket on the floor. “Celia… what’re you doing?”

"I'll sleep on the floor," she told him, "and you'll get the bed, Master Jason."

“The bed is big enough for both of us," he repeated what he said earlier.

"But I of course can't sleep in the same bed as you, Master."

“Why not?” he asked, clearly upset she wanted to sleep on the floor. “We sat in the carriage for nearly twelve hours! I’m sure your back hurts.”

"A little... But no, it's improper, Master Jason. I'll be fine on the floor. You're already doing so much for me."

“Celia I don’t want you to sleep on the floor," Jason said. “There’s enough pillows and everything…"

"But... we're talking about a human boy laying with a furred girl. Worse still, a maid laying with her master's son!"

“Nobody will know, the door's locked! Celia, please!” he pled.

The seemingly urgent tone in his voice persuaded her some. She stopped and thought for a moment. "...Are you ordering me to share your bed with you, Master Jason?"

He paused for a moment, realizing how easy it could've been. “Yes, I’m ordering you to sleep in the bed with me.”

She bowed. "As you wish, Master." She bent over and picked up the bedsheet she'd laid out on the floor and placed it back on the bed. "Would you like to get dinner before heading to bed?"

“I suppose we can," Jason nodded, happy that the argument was over with. He walked over to the door, ready to leave.

Celia grabbed her small coin purse and led the way out the door, then started down the hall.

As they walked down the hallway Jason kept an eye out for that man from earlier. The man wasn't in the hallway, but was loitering inside the inn's lobby, where he immediately perked up upon seeing Celia again.

"Well, hello again, stripey!" he called to the skunk in a drunken manner.

Jason immediately put himself between the drunken man and his housemaid. “Leave us be," Jason said, not aware that the best way to deal with these people was to just keep an eye on them and ignore what they say.

"I'm just tryin' ta get friendly," he said to Jason. "Best stay out of our flirting, little man." He added a small smirk.

"Jason, let's just go," Celia whispered to her master.

Jason didn’t object to what Celia said, she knew best. Looking over at the drunken man before following Celia out of the inn. Around the area were a few smaller pubs and a restaurant. The sign above the building across the street read ‘The Silver Spoon’ and seemed like a more upscale establishment, in tune with the general atmosphere of the town.

As they left, the human man could be heard saying something lewd about Celia's tail before being snapped at by the innkeeper. "How's that place look to you?" she asked Jason, motioning to The Silver Spoon.

“It looks fine,” Jason said. Through the windows one could see that the restaurant was very well-lit and overall quite clean. “We should probably ask for a table that’s sort of isolated, just to be safe.”

"That's a good idea, Master Jason," Celia said before leading the way over to the restaurant, coin purse in hand.

“I’m sorry, I should have brought money with me… I’ll make sure that Father reimburses you…” Jason offered, keeping to her side.

She shook her head as they entered the restaurant. "Not a chance, Master Jason. This is a personal trip, I'll pay for it out of pocket." She said the next part under her breath, "Even if it does cost me my entire savings..."


	5. The second night

After dinner, Celia led Jason back across the street toward the inn. She was still the slightest bit hungry and cursed herself for not packing any food for the trip before leaving Gladstone Manor. She must've been in so much of a rush to go help her sister that it slipped her mind.

Though it was dark out, Celia could just barely make out the figure of someone on the ground outside their inn. As they got closer, she realized it was the same drunk from earlier in the night.

"'Ey, darlin'," he slurs. "Yous two got me thrown out of my room. Now I think you owe me a place to sleep... How about between your fluffy legs?"

Jason looked at the man with a look of complete disgust. Reaching down and taking Celia by the hand, he steered them in a loop around the drunk.

"'Ey, I'm talkin' ta you!" he shouted at them as they hurried inside.

"That guy's gotta look out for more trigger-happy skunks. He's gonna get sprayed one of these days if he keeps that up."

“He deserves it...” Jason mumbled. What he had said disturbed the young human. Jason led them down the hallway, keeping a grip on Celia’s hand as they finally got to the room. He waited for Celia to open it for them.

She pulled out her key from a jacket pocket and unlocked the door, making sure to lock it again once they were inside. "So... You said same bed?"

“Yeah… same bed.” He immediately went for his suitcase, pulling out his nightwear. Without a bit of shame Jason got undressed and into the clothes he would be sleeping in.

She nodded. "And I presume the same nightly routine, Master?" She walked over to her suitcase and grabbed the lightest set of clothes she owned: her maid outfit.

Jason gave a slight shrug. Knowing the purpose was to calm and relax him, he figured it would probably be the best thing for him. Climbing into bed, he smiled when he saw Celia getting out the familiar maid outfit.

Celia stepped into the bathroom to change and emerged a minute later. "Are you ready for it now, Master Jason?"

He nodded and pulled his sleeping pants down to reveal his dick to her.

"Oh dear, Master..." Celia said. "I didn't pack any lotion. Do you mind if this is slightly less smooth than usual?"

“Okay… There isn’t any other way to make it smooth? Remember when we were out of lotion a few months ago? It didn’t feel as good as it did with it.”

"I-" she stopped herself. "Well, there is one way I can think of... Though it's much more intimate than either of us are used to, Master Jason..."

“Well what is it...?” Jason asked, a little concerned.

"I could... use my mouth to lubricate it, Master," the maid suggested hesitantly.

Jason blushed deeply as she said that. The idea itself embarrassed him. “If that’s the only way.”

"As you wish, Master." Celia walked closer to him, kneeling beside the bed. "Are you ready, Master Jason?"

He nodded, shifting nervously on the bed before laying back, looking up at his housemaid. He was curious as to what this would feel like.

She then leaned in and slowly lowered her mouth onto his member, careful to keep her teeth far out of the way. She then gradually took the whole thing inside her, taking it all the way to its base.

Jason let out a soft moan. The warmth of her mouth felt great on his length, her saliva coating his shaft.

Once she'd enveloped the whole thing, she pulled herself off of him and then began jerking him with her paw as normal.

Jason was about to protest her resuming the normal routine before he stopped himself, knowing that she most likely didn’t want to be down there longer then she had to. 

The saliva that coated his dick didn’t feel as good as the lotion. He could feel it dry rather quicker than the lotion would have.

As she felt her saliva starting to dry much sooner than the lotion would, she leaned over again and took his dick into her mouth for a second time.

“A-aah..” Jason moaned and buckled his knees some. This was the most intense feeling he’d ever felt and it showed in his clenched eyes and his scrunching toes.

"Feel like you will finish soon, Master Jason?" Celia asked after pulling his dick out of her mouth for the second time. As she hadn't brought a rag for him, she'd taken a towel out of the bathroom and now held it in her free hand.

“Yes…" He groaned as he pushed his hips into her hand, his body squirming and shifting more than it ever had during their nightly routine.

She nodded respectfully. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Master." She then picked up her pace, holding the towel closer to his penis so that she may catch his ejaculate sooner.

Jason couldn’t help but gasp and let out a sharp moan as he came, shooting his warm load into the towel. That which didn’t shoot onto the towel was caught in the fur of her paws and a small amount on the sheets.

She sped up slightly as he began to orgasm, wanting to get every last bit of it out.

He whimpered softly as she got the last of his cum out, fluid dribbling onto her paws

She felt some of the warm fluid drip out onto her hands but ignored it for the time being. "Are you finished, Master Jason?"

He gave a slow nod, waiting for her to move her hand away so he could pull his pants up.

"Very well, Master," she said with a nod. She stood up and walked to the bathroom to clean herself off.

He reached down to pull up his pants, letting out a soft sigh.

A minute later, she rejoined him in the room. "Would you still like me to share your bed, Master Jason?"

He nodded and pulled up the other side of the bed's sheets.

Without saying anything else, she climbed into bed and under the covers with Jason. She was careful to take up, at most, a fourth of the bed space to give Jason all the space he needed. "Are you comfortable, Master Jason?"

“I’m fine. You can spread out more if you'd like. You make my bed, you know I barely use half of it," he said, still facing her as she got comfortable.

She shook her head. "I'm the guest in your bed, Master," she told him. "You deserve the majority of the room."

“Celia, it really doesn’t matter to me…" he said with a sigh as he rolled over to face away from her, just giving up on arguing with her.

She didn't reply, just shutting her eyes and trying to fall asleep.

Jason didn’t take much longer to fall asleep, breathing softly as he laid still, barely moving a muscle as he slept.

Celia remained awake in bed for a long while. She was too stressed about the whole reason behind their trip. She was excited to see her sister tomorrow, sure, but that didn't make her any more like why they had to visit. After quite some time, however, she did manage to succumb to exhaustion.


	6. The following morning

Jason woke up the next morning, peeking out of the covers and letting out a soft yawn.

Celia had already been up, but oddly enough, was not in the room. Jason found himself all alone.

“Celia...?” he said softly as he sat up, slowly getting out of bed and going to the bathroom to check if she was there.

Shortly after he spoke, the door to their room opened. Celia entered, carrying a tray of eggs, sausage links, and a biscuit: Jason's usual breakfast back at the manor. "Good morning, Master Jason!"

“Good morning… Where did you get that from?” he asked in a concerned way.

"A nearby restaurant," she answered. "They want me to take the tray back when we're done with it. The good news though is that drunkard from last night was nowhere to be seen."

“Did it cost you a lot?” Jason asked in the same concerned tone.

She shook her head. "Don't you worry about that, Master. Just eat." She set the tray down in front of Jason.

He looked up at her and nodded, but took one half of the biscuit and offered it for her. “You have to eat too...”

"I already ate something at the restaurant," she lied through her teeth. "Now eat up!"

“You promise you’re not lying?” he asked softly, his hand lowering back to the tray.

She just smiled at him and slid the tray a little closer.

He nodded and started to eat, eating as quickly as he could so they could leave the town.

"Would you like to change before we head out, Master Jason?"

Jason nodded and got off the edge of the bed, grabbing a fresh set of clothes and putting it on.

"Oh, excuse me then," she said, heading toward the bathroom to give Jason his privacy.

Jason didn’t care whether she was in the room or not, just continuing to change into his normal clothes, folding up what he slept in, and putting it away in the suitcase. “I’m ready to leave.”

She re-emerged from the bathroom. "Very well, Master," she said with a bow. "I shall untie our horse. Will you meet me out front with our luggage?"

He nodded and she left. Jason finished the last of his food before picking up both their suitcases and heading to the front lobby, making sure to bring the tray with him.

A few minutes later, she met him in the street in front of the inn. She hopped off the carriage to help Jason load in their belongings.

“What restaurant is it? I’ll take it over there,” Jason asked as he helped load their things up.

She lifted the first suitcase up into their carriage. "That one," she said, pointing a short ways down the street.

He nodded and started towards the building she pointed at, keeping the tray in his hand as he walked.

She loaded their second and final suitcase onboard, then just waited for Jason to get back. She would've ridden her horse over to meet him outside the restaurant, but she didn't know how to command the horse.

Jason walked inside the restaurant and approached the front counter. “A skunk, Celia, came and borrowed this tray earlier. I came to give it back.”

"Right, thanks hun," the hostess said, taking the tray back from the young man and putting it away.

“Did she order anything when she came in?” he asked in a soft voice

"Yessir," she said, "two sausages, two eggs, and a biscuit."

“No I mean… anything other than what she took out of the restaurant on that tray?”

"No sir," she said, "just what she carried outta here."

Can I… A-alright, thank you...” Jason mumbled and headed out of the building back to where Celia was.

"Come again soon," the woman called out to Jason as he left.

"Ready to go, Master?" Celia asked Jason as he got close to their vehicle.

Jason climbed into the carriage and sat down with a sigh. “You didn’t eat anything...”

"What?" she said. "How do you know?"

“I asked the person at the restaurant.”

Celia sighed. "Master... Why did you do that? I don't need to eat breakfast."

“Yes you need to eat breakfast,” Jason mumbled and crossed his arms.

"I'm not hungry, Master Jason. Now please, get the horse moving. We want to make it to my sister's before sundown."

Jason nodded and gently whipped the reins, steering the horse onto the main road.

"Thank you, Master," she said to him as they got moving.

He sighed and kept them going for about an hour before he said anything. “When was the last time you talked to your sister?”

"In person? Two or three years ago... My gods, she'll have grown so much."

Jason nodded. “Just in letters since then?” he asked as they continued.

She nodded, "Yes, Master."

“I’m sure she’ll be really happy to see you,” Jason said, setting the reins on a small pole to keep them held in place.

"Mhm," she agreed. "This'll probably also be my first time seeing another skunk in the same amount of time. That'll be weird. I'll have to remind myself I'm not looking in a mirror."

Jason chuckled softly and nodded. “Well I’m excited for you.” Jason smiles at her as the horse kept going on the road.

"Thank you, Master Jason."


	7. The reunion

Sarah was working outside, watering the flowers and pruning the bushes, when she noticed an unfamiliar horse and small carriage approach her master's manor. 'Well this is unexpected,' she thought. As the carriage drew closer, she could see that it had two occupants, and one seemed to be primarily black with white stripes, much like herself. She thought this even more odd. Perhaps some skunk activism group had heard about her trial and was coming to defend her? She approached the carriage as it drew closer to the estate.

Jason gently pulled on the reins to command the horse to stop. “Wanna go meet her? She looks excited,” Jason said with a smile to Celia.

Celia slowly nodded. She looked frozen. "I'm... I'm so nervous!" she whispered to Jason. "It's been so long!"

"'Lo, visitors!" Sarah called out to the carriage as she walked up to it. As she got closer, Celia and Jason could tell she was wearing brown leather overalls, apparently suited for garden work. "How may I-" she cut herself off. "Celia?"

Celia tried to respond, but couldn't do more than stammer. What was there even to say after all these years?

Jason grinned stupidly and gently nudged her shoulder.

She swallowed hard. "S-Sarah, we came for your trial," Celia choked out, feeling as if she could cry. "We're not gonna let them..." She couldn't say more. She'd never been so at a loss for words in her life.

“She’s here to be a character witness for you," Jason said to Sarah.

Sarah's features immediately softened. "Celia... get down here," she said playfully. Celia obliged and descended from the carriage, where she was immediately rushed over to by Sarah and pulled into the tightest hug in her memory.

This close to her sister, Celia could now smell the not-too-faint odor of skunk musk. It wasn't pleasant, but it could also be a lot worse.

“Where should I bring this?” Jason asked Sarah, referring to the carriage and horse.

Sarah pulled out of the hug as Jason called out to her. She was slightly unhappy he pulled her out of the tender sisterly moment, but figured the baron's kid just wasn't so skilled at social interaction. That definitely wasn't unusual for his type. "Um," the younger skunk said, wiping her eye, "around the back. Follow me. C'mon, Celia." She turned around and walked with her sister around the left side of the house, catching up with her as they went.

Jason didn’t take much notice of what he had done, gently whipping the reins and making the horse slowly follow Sarah.

The two skunk sisters caught up some as they walked, discussing the letters they'd exchanged recently and what the state of the trial was now, before coming to the stables, where Celia stayed outside and Sarah led the horse inside to tie it up.

Jason got out of the carriage before entering the stable to help Sarah get their horse situated. “Thank you," he said politely to her.

"Any chance you could show us around your manor?" Celia asked Sarah as she and Jason exited the stable.

"I would," she said, "but I'm not permitted inside lately."

“How come?” Jason asked. He knew the answer but more so wanted the reasoning behind it.

"The smell," Sarah sighed. "I'm sure you're able to detect it even from where you're standing now." She motioned to the few feet between Jason and herself. "They want me to keep working for them, but still can't stand the smell. So I'm sort of just exiled outside."

Jason didn’t take much notice of the smell until Sarah had mentioned it. Wrinkling his nose and nodding. “How much longer until it wears off?” Jason asked her, trying to remain polite and not act too annoyed by the smell

Sarah shrugged. "Could be another week or two, maybe even more. If you'd like, though, I can introduce you to my masters at the doorway. Hopefully they'll be kind enough to let you stay."

Jason nodded. “That’d be nice, thank you.”

"Follow me then, sir and Celia." She led the way back around the house to the front desk. Immediately after knocking on the door, she stepped several feet back from it, presumably so her masters wouldn't have to smell her.

Jason looked back at her, then to the front door. He heard the soft clacking of shoes against the presumably wooden floor before seeing the large doors open up.

A young human woman opened the door, presumably the very same one whom Sarah had defended using her musk. "Hey, Sar–" she began as she opened the door, presumably seeing the black and white fur pattern and mistaking Celia for Sarah. As she noticed she was mistaken, however, she visibly became nervous. The door now open all the way, she could see Sarah standing well behind Celia and Jason. "Sarah?" the girl said. "Who are these?"

Jason stayed silent, looking over at the woman who stood in front of him. He decided to let Sarah introduce them as she wanted.

"Mistress Marie, these are my sister, Celia, and her master, Jason. They're here for my trial tomorrow. I'm asking your permission for them to spend the night here instead of at an inn."

"I'll have to check with my parents," Marie replied. "They're gonna be out until later this evening, but until then they're welcome inside. Of course, you're not, Sarah."

Jason sighed softly and nodded. “Thank you Marie," he said politely to the young woman. “Do you want to stay here with your sister or join me inside?” Jason asked Celia.

"I'll stay out here and catch up with Sarah. You go ahead inside, Master Jason."

Jason then turned and walked over to the front door where Marie was standing.

"What did she say your name was?" the human girl asked Jason as she shut the door behind him. The two skunk girls were left outside to talk with each other.

“Jason," he said to her as he stepped past and into the foyer. As he walked by, he was able to smell a light scent of skunk on Marie too. She must've been close by when Sarah sprayed.

"Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Marie, as you already heard. And you're the owner of... who was it? Cecilia?" She led him into the living room.

“Celia. I don’t really own her...” Jason was weirded out by the way she worded that.

"Well, she's your maid, isn't she? Then she contractually belongs to you, or at least to your family." She sat down on the couch.

“Well, I mean, she just works for us… She’s still her own person,” Jason said as he slowly sat down on the couch opposite Marie so he could face her.

She chuckled a little. "Well, I guess, yeah. So why'd you come with her? Why couldn't you just send her on her own?"

“I just wanted to come too, I guess. I’d be the only one home and… I suppose I just didn’t want to be lonely.”

"I see. So you must like her somewhat, huh?" Marie crossed her arms.

“She was the one who raised me after my mother died...” Jason mumbled to her.

"Oh, I see..." Marie realized she'd crossed something of a line. "Well, that makes sense then... So, are you ready for Sarah's trial tomorrow?"

“Well, I won’t really be doing anything, but yeah, I hope it goes well and Sarah gets to keep her glands.”

"I hope she doesn't," Marie said, nose wrinkling. "That stuff _stunk_. I had to burn all the clothes I had on and my bedsheets."

“But it’d be stupid if they took them out. She used them in a right way.”

"Yeah, but they stink," Marie retorted. "She can defend us in a less repulsive way next time. And my boyfriend still stinks, way worse than Sarah does now."

“You’re still with him?” Jason asked, baffled that she would be.

"Well, yeah. He made a mistake and he got kind of violent, but that doesn't mean I don't love him. And it definitely doesn't mean he deserved to have that sprayed all over him!" She spoke with the naiveté of someone half her age.

“You don’t think that him being violent with you warranted that?”

"She should've just asked him to leave some more!" Marie argued. "All he did was hit me a couple times and shove Sarah over once!"

“And that’s okay?!” he asked, completely shocked.

"Like I said, it was just a mistake, and it definitely didn't warrant her letting her stink-juice fly. Gods, if I'd known you'd be such a skunk-defender, I would never have let you inside."

“Just because they’re skunks doesn’t mean anything...” Jason mumbled, feeling attacked.

"Uh, it kinda does," she said cockily. "It means they're animals, unlike you and me."

“I-I really don’t think that’s the case… They’re still people, like us. If you think so lowly of skunks why do you even want her to still be your maid?”

"Because that's what furreds do," Marie said. "They serve us. That's their place. And I don't care who cleans our house. In fact, I'd love it if my parents just bought a new maid who wasn't a skunk, but it's apparently a status symbol or something to have a skunk as your maid." She shrugged.

Jason was about to say something beyond profane along the lines of her being a sick-minded bitch, but decided it’d be best to keep his mouth shut.

"See? It makes sense when explained that way." She stood up and walked over to a window from which the stables were visible. There, Marie could see Celia and Sarah chatting and laughing outside the place where Sarah had been spending the past several nights. "Maybe you should call your maid in for the night," Marie called to Jason. "It's almost dark, and if she spends too much time around Sarah, the stink will cling to her, too."

“I don’t think that’s how that works… They haven’t seen each other in years. I don’t see a problem with them enjoying each other’s company for a while.” Jason said as she looked over at her from the couch. “And her name is Celia...”

"It doesn't matter," Marie chuckled. She then cocked her head to see something a little further out the window. "Oh, looks like my parents are home. Let's go meet them outside before they start freaking about the two skunks in our yard."

“Okay.” Jason nodded as he stood, walking to the front door and waiting for Marie.

The other human joined Jason at the front door and led the way outside. She hurried over to her parents' horse and carriage and began explaining the situation. After a couple minutes, Marie walked back over to Jason while her parents headed inside. "So, they said it's ok for you and Cecilia to spend the night here," she said. "However, only you can sleep inside. They said your maid has to sleep in the stables with Sarah, something about 'not wanting a repeat of last week', or something."

“It’s Celia… I’ll go and tell her.” He huffed as he walked over to Sarah and Celia. “That woman is dreadful," he said in a tired tone as he got within earshot of them.

Sarah tilted her head to the side slightly. She saw no reason why another human would dislike Marie. "Why? Did she still stink too?"

“No, she’s just a horrible person...” Jason huffed and looked over at Celia. “Her father and mother want you to stay out here for the night.”

"Oh..." Celia said. "Well, that's alright. I'm sure that'll just give Sarah and me more time to catch up, right? Where will you be staying, Master Jason?"

“I’ll be inside...” he said to her, upset she couldn’t come with him.

"Oh... ok," Celia said, forcing a smile. She'd privately hoped her master would sleep outside with her, but it was understandable how a human who'd grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle might prefer to stay indoors.

“But if she keeps annoying me I may just come out here, he said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh, don't worry about her," Sarah said. "You'll probably be sleeping in my room, so you'll be away from her. Now, are you two hungry at all from the trip here?"

“Yeah I’m pretty hungry.” Jason smiles some at her.

"I'm starving," Celia said.

"Well, why don't we walk into town for something to eat? I'll pay, of course."

“Thank you Sarah. You need to talk some sense into your sister — she doesn’t eat.”

"Celia!"

"Only when it's prohibitively expensive!" the older skunk defended herself. "Anyway, lead the way into town."

Sarah shook her head with a laugh and turned to lead the other two.

Jason laughed softly and followed Sarah.


	8. The story

“How do you like it here?” Jason asked Sarah as they started down the road.

She shrugged. "It's fine. Same as most other manors, I presume. They treat you like shit, but a job is a job."

"Sarah!" Celia hissed. "Watch your language around my master!"

“W-well I don’t think I treat Celia badly...” Jason mumbled before thinking about it, realizing that only Celia could be the judge of that.

"That's right, Master," Celia said with a bow. "You act quite kindly to me, and I thank you for that."

"Well, at least one of us scored a nice family," Sarah huffed.

“Marie is a total bitch," Jason said cold-heartedly.

Sarah looked over her shoulder at the human boy. "Well that was unexpected from you, Jason. Though I agree, what makes you say that?"

“She was just bad-mouthing you the entire time I was in there with her. She said that skunks and all other furreds aren’t people, just animals.” A clear distaste was in his mouth as he talked about it.

Celia looked a bit shocked but Sarah just sighed.

"Yeah," the younger skunk said, "her whole family is kind of like that. They only care about us for how we can serve them. I suspect they got a skunk as a maid just because that's what everyone else does. Probably didn't even know I could spray, 'else they would've opted for just some cat."

“Yeah, that’s what she said.” He sighed. “Something about it being a status symbol… I think that’s all disgusting.”

"Yeah, but what can you do?" said Sarah. "Heh, I can tell you at least one person who didn't know what skunks can do: the kid I sprayed. You should've seen his face the instant after it hit him, total shock, confusion, and disgust." Sarah laughed as they entered town.

"Sarah!" Celia hissed at her sister. "Don't be so proud of that! It's terrible that you had to spray at all!"

“I mean the shock of it is pretty funny.” He laughed with her. “Marie said she didn’t think it was appropriate, even though he hit her multiple times and shoved Sarah.”

Sarah scoffed. "Yeah, that sounds about typical of her. She's obsessed with that stupid boyfriend of hers. Nothing he does is wrong in her eyes." As they walked through the town, a couple people could be seen wrinkling their noses at Sarah and Celia, though it wasn't completely obvious whether they could smell Sarah or if it was just because they'd heard she sprayed that boy.

“So idiotic,” Jason said and shook his head as he followed Sarah.

"Here, follow me," Sarah said as she took a turn down another street. "There's this place that's owned by other furreds, and they have outside seating," she told the other two.

He nodded and kept following behind Sarah, wondering how many of the townsfolk had looked at them in disgust by now.

"Oh, don't mind the dirty looks, Celia," Sarah told her sister. "They just think that you're me."

Shortly thereafter, the small party was sitting outside in the furred-owned restaurant Sarah had told them about, apparently the only one in town. Predictably, they were placed in the outside seating area out of courtesy for other patrons.

Jason took a seat next to Celia. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he felt much safer near her than when they were separated. He quietly picked up the menu and began going over it.

Celia and Sarah had already largely caught up on how their lives had been as of late, so they were somewhat lacking in topics of conversation by now. The two girls just read the paper menus in silence, as Jason had already been doing.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, a small, short-haired canine walked over to their table. He cleared his throat as his sensitive nose immediately caught on to the musky scent emanating from the party of three. “Erm… have you all decided?”

Celia shut her menu. "Yes, sir," the skunk said. "I'll have the vegetable soup."

"And I the chicken breast," Sarah chimed in.

“I'd like the chicken breast too, please,” Jason said, looking up at him. He closed the menu and put it back into the table.

"Thank you, I'll have that out soon." The man tried to bow before leaving, but made the mistake of leaning in even closer to Sarah, launching him into a violent coughing fit. Knowing it wouldn't resolve itself anytime soon, he just coughed into his fist and hurried back inside.

“That uh… seemed a little overdramatic?” Jason said to the skunks at the table.

Sarah shook her head. "I've been doing that to all the canines that get close to me as of late. I'm sure he couldn't help it."

“Well their noses are more sensitive, right?” Jason said, looking to Celia for approval on his statement.

"That's right, Master," Celia said. "Canines tend to have extremely sensitive noses. I've even read that they can pick up on a skunk's scent from ten miles away. Obviously, that doesn't apply to a scent as faint as Sarah's is right now, but it does demonstrate how intense it must be for the poor guy when up this close."

“I bet he couldn’t sleep the night she sprayed," he said with a light chuckle.

"Y'know, you're probably right," Sarah laughed with him. "All those humans frowning at me in the street, when it should be this guy who's most pissed at me."

Jason chuckled and took a sip of his water, looking around at the outside scenery.

"So, Sarah, what exactly happened that night?" Celia asked. "I mean, I'm sure you were justified in spraying, but how'd it happen?"

"Fine, I'll tell you," Sarah said.

Jason looked over, attentive to what she would be telling them.

"I heard Marie and her boyfriend, Devon, fighting in Marie's room. She was screaming something about another girl and he was, of course, denying it. You know, usual teenage drama. I walked in, planning on asking them to keep it down because her parents were sleeping. However, I walked in just as Devon slapped Marie across the face. That's when I raised my voice and ordered him out. By this point, I'll admit, my tail was up. He looked over to me and said something rude about my being a furred, but then I thought he was agreeing to leave, because he started toward the doorway. I stepped aside to let him pass, and that's when he shoved me with his whole body. I landed on my side several feet away. He then seemed like he hadn't had enough yet, because he approached me again, malice in his eyes. This time I knew he was coming for me specifically, because if he wanted to leave, he could have headed down the hall, but instead he was coming in my direction. That's when I sprayed him. My tail was already up and I was wearing my maid outfit, so the only thing that stood between him and myself was a thin pair of underwear — sorry, Jason, that might be a little lewd for you. But that's how it happened."

Jason gave a short shrug. “I don’t think it was lewd, and it sounds like a complete case of self-defense, as well as defense of the household and its members.”

"It was," Sarah said. "The issue comes with getting Marie to testify the same thing, which I doubt she will. And the boy I sprayed comes from a powerful family, almost as rich as Marie's. They'll be able to hire a good lawyer... Can I tell you guys something?"

“What is it?” Jason asked.

"I'm probably going to be found guilty tomorrow," Sarah said, "and then I'm probably going to get deglanded. If that happens, I'm probably going to die shortly after. I just wanted to thank you guys for caring so much as to come all the way up here just for my sake."

Celia's eyes quickly began welling up with tears. "Sarah... d-d-don't say that about yourself!"

“No! It’ll all be fine!” Jason quickly said, beyond concerned now that Sarah had gone and blatantly accepted her fate.

"Come on guys... Be realistic." Sarah was now starting to weep too. "People like me and Celia don't make it out of situations like this. Skunk maids are meant to be single-use commodities. You buy us to deter home invaders, have us spray in case one comes anyway, then let us die from infection and you buy a new one. Come on, Jason, surely you know that."

“No, I don’t because I don’t hate Celia like Marie and her family hate you, Sarah! They think of you as nothing but an animal! You shouldn’t just accept that!” Jason said passionately.

"Then what am I supposed to do, Jason?!" she shouted back at him.

Celia would've tried to add something, but she was crying too hard to speak.

“I-I don’t know! Take it one step at a time…!" Jason mumbled defeatedly. “You shouldn’t just give up all hope so soon, we have Celia here to be your character witness. I think they’ll listen somewhat.”

"I'll try..." Sarah choked out. "But I don't think we should get our hopes up. Still, I like your optimism. It's clear Celia got lucky with such a good master."

“Thank you,” Jason said to her. “Just try to be optimistic… for Celia...”

Celia nodded. "I couldn't handle losing you, sis..." she wept. "I–"

"Is this a bad time?" the waiter asked. He'd come back with three plates of food just to discover a table of crying people.


	9. The final hours

Celia woke up early the next morning, as she always did. As Sarah slept next to her — the reduction in her work responsibilities let her get much more sleep than usual — Celia quietly crept down from the upper floor of the barn and walked outside. She felt the need to relieve herself but recalled being told the previous night that she was not welcome inside. Sighing, she walked around the other side of the barn and looked for a leaf she could use to wipe herself with when done.

Jason was up earlier than usual. Throughout the night Marie’s parents seemed to argue about the trial, specifically over whether they wanted to keep the skunk or not once it was concluded.

Waking up with little sleep made him feel wide awake, so he decided to go outside and see if Celia or Sarah was awake yet. He was still in his sleeping clothes, putting on slippers that he had brought with him in the suitcase.

Celia ventured a short distance into the surrounding woods behind the painted red barn before crouching down and lifting her skirt up. She pushed the front of her panties to the side before starting to pee. Typically one would pull down their skirt to urinate, but given that Celia was taking the risk of doing so outside, she figured it would be smart to just lift up her skirt slightly.

Jason wandered into the barn to look for the two, but not knowing there was a second floor to it he gave up after a short search of the first. Hearing a soft pattering of liquid on the ground outside, Jason went around the barn to see what it was. There he saw Celia in her maid outfit, peeing in plain sight. “Celia?”

In a panic, Celia quickly lowered her skirt again, which to her dismay led to her peeing against the inside of it a little and pissing on her own leg a lot. "M-Master!" Celia exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Master! I have no access to the indoor toilet, so I... I'm so, so sorry, Master!"

“I-it’s fine Celia! I’m sorry!” Jason said quickly before turning away, his face beet red.

"My sincerest apologies, Master Jason," Celia said, bowing profusely. "I should have headed deeper into the woods. It was my mistake."

“Celia, it’s okay… But going further into the woods would’ve been for the best...”

She nodded. "I am so sorry, Master. I won't let it happen again."

“Okay… If they caught you that’d be terrible...” Jason chuckled lightly. "They might even think you're ‘spraying’."

"Oh my gods, Master..." Celia said, laughing a bit too.

Jason smiled, happy to have broken such an awkward mood.

"Um... Master? Any chance I can head into the woods and finish my business?" She lightly danced up and down, evidently still needing to pee.

“Y-yeah go! I’ll keep lookout.” Jason waved her off.

"Thank you, Master Jason," she said, trotting off into the woods.

“Mhm.” Jason kept an eye on her as she went into the forest, looking around again to make sure no one was there.

A couple minutes later, Celia returned to Jason. "Thank you, Master. I owe you greatly."

“You don’t owe me a thing.” Jason smiled at her once she returned.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

“No not yet, no one else is up.”

"Would you like to head into town and get something? Sarah's still asleep, but she'll be leaving here soon because she has to get to the courthouse more than an hour before we do."

“Okay, can we get a breakfast where you actually eat this time around?” Jason asked, smiling over at Celia.

She chuckled. "Very well, Master. I suppose it would be a bad idea to testify on an empty stomach, anyway."

“Loud grumbling in the middle of honest testimony," Jason chuckled and started off towards town

She laughed with him. "Precisely." They walked into town, where Celia was relieved to not have heads turn and noses wrinkle in her direction.

Jason smiled as they made their way into town. A handful of restaurants looked to be open for an early riser's breakfast.

"Which of these places do you estimate is the cheapest, Master?"

“Likely whichever one is least busy.”

"Makes sense," she said. "So... that one?" She motioned to a restaurant a few storefronts down, the very same one they'd eaten at the previous night.

Jason nodded and led the way to the restaurant. Once they got to the front, Jason opened the door for Celia.

Celia let Jason lead her inside, where they were sat down and handed menus. Shortly after being left alone to decide what they'd like, however, Celia laid her head in her hands, apparently stressed about something.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked, concerned.

"I just... can't get this awful dream I had last night out of my head... I'm sorry, Master Jason. I'm not supposed to let internal conflict like this show itself to you."

“It’s fine. We’ve gone through so much, I don’t mind talking to you about it.” He smiled at her, setting the menu down to give her his full attention.

She sighed and looked up at him. "Are you sure? It's... a little graphic."

“I’d like to know...”

"Well, it was about my sister. It was in a future where she'd lost the trial, and she was undergoing that operation to have her musk glands removed..."

“Is, um… Is that all?”

"Well, no... I was holding her hand, in the dream, as the doctor sliced into her... y'know, that place where the glands are located. She yelped as the first cut was made, then squeezed my paw as the pain was too intense for her to bear on her own. A horrible smell filled the room, and then she looked up at me with tear-filled eyes... Master, looking into her eyes... It was like she was telling me that she was going to die... I know it was just a dream, but it was so awful... looking at my little sister as she just accepted she was doomed..."

“Celia, it won’t be like that. Don’t think anymore about it. Please...” Jason said, very clearly concerned for her.

She looked up at him. It was very obvious now that she was crying. "How are you so sure, Master Jason?"

“Well if you just keep thinking of the worst, then that’s all that will happen. Just give it your best and have hope… That’s all we can really do.”

"Yes, I suppose... Thank you, Master," Celia said, wiping her tears away and returning her attention to the menu.

Jason gave a short nod before picking his menu up. After a few minutes of reading, he decided on eggs, a few strips of bacon, and a small bowl of fruit.

Celia requested just a couple eggs and some potatoes before handing their menus back to the waiter.

“When is the trial?” Jason asked her, taking a sip of his glass of water.

"Eleven," she answered. "So we should have plenty of time to eat breakfast, walk there, and get all set up."

“I need to get into the suit I brought," he said with a soft huff.

She nodded back to Jason. "And I'll need to change into my dress."

“We’ll have time for all that?” Jason asked, just wanting to be certain.

"Definitely," she replied. "It's only eight now, and the courthouse is just down the street."

Jason nodded with a little smile.

A short while later, the waiter came back with their food.

“Thank you,” Jason said quietly then began to eat, putting the bowl of fruit between the two of them, letting Celia take some of she’d like.

Celia, of course, refrained from eating any of Jason's fruit as they finished their main meals.

Jason kept eating his eggs and bacon, only occasionally having some of the fruit.

“You can have some.” Jason said to her, calmly nibbling on a strip of bacon.

She, equally as calmly as Jason, refused to eat any. "I'm full, Master Jason."

“Mm alright.” Jason finished the bacon and started to work on the fruit, but first put a lone grape on her plate.

She smiled at him a little, then took the grape in her thumb and pointer finger claws to eat it.

He smiled back at her, leaving the bowl in the middle.

She stopped herself from eating any more after that one grape, opting instead to simply look around the room at different things.

Jason sighed and finished off the fruit.

"Are we ready to go back to Sarah's manor now, Master?"

Jason nodded and stood, walking to the door and waiting for Celia to join him after paying.

Celia paid for their food, now dangerously low on cash, then turned back to Jason with a forced smile as she tried to ignore how little money she had. "Ready to get going, Master?"

“Mhm.” Jason hummed and led the way out of the restaurant and back towards the manor.

Celia followed her human master out of the restaurant and down the road to Sarah's house.


	10. The trial

Jason, having changed into a pristine, classy black suit, and Celia, having changed into an elegant white dress, made their way to the courthouse. It was a large, marble building, its walls decorated with huge paintings. Sarah was already sat at the defendant stand, waiting for the trial to start. The room was filled with the families of the prosecution, Celia being the only family member of the skunk. “Where do we sit?” Jason whispered quietly.

"I suppose behind Sarah," Celia whispered back to Jason. As they drew a little nearer, they could tell that the entire first line of benches behind her was clear. "That is, if you're ok with the smell, Master," she added.

Jason nodded, but it was clear he was a little hesitant. He’d been around her a few times in the last day though, so he was pretty sure he was growing accustomed to it.

Celia led the way to sit behind her sister. Mercifully, the smell was a little weaker than it had been the previous day. "Hey, Sarah," Celia whispered.

The skunk's sister turned around and formed a smile at the sight of Celia and Jason. "I'm glad you two could make it," she whispered to them.

Jason nodded some to Sarah, looking around and getting a few bad looks from the family Sarah served, especially from Marie.

"So when's your lawyer getting here?" Celia whispered.

"I don't have one."

"You what?!"

“Celia keep it down… I think the judge is coming out...” Jason mumbled softly as a large man with a crisp, red beard walked through a door toward the back of the courtroom and made his way to the stand.

"I couldn't afford one."

"I'm you're lawyer then!" Celia said recklessly before rushing around the short wall separating defendant from spectator and sat down next to her. The judge for a moment seemed alarmed at the sight of a skunk suddenly hurrying in his direction, but was relieved when she stopped short of him and sat down.

“Celia!” Jason said quickly before a small gavel hit the wooden plate to silence the light chatter around the room.

"Order, order," the judge spoke. "Where is the prosec–" Just then, Sarah's accuser and his lawyer walked into the room, carrying an awful stench with them. Celia shot them a dirty look while her sister kept her cool.

Jason grunted softly as they came by, having to try his best not to cough out of politeness for the court.

Despite Jason's attempts at politeness, other observers didn't even attempt to hide their coughs and waves of their hands in front of their noses. The judge slammed his gavel a couple more times, "Order, order. Does the prosecution have a reason for being tardy?"

"Yes, your honor," Sarah's accuser said. "Just some last-minute attempts to clean me up before joining you in your fine courthouse. As you can see—" he motioned to the people whose senses of smell he'd just offended, "—that was unsuccessful." He then shot a glare at Sarah.

The judge gave a firm shake of his head. “That is no excuse. You were given an exact time," he huffs out, looking over his papers one last time and preparing to begin the trial. “Now I want to meet with each party's attorneys.”

Celia remained seated for a moment before it hit her that this would include her. While the prosecutor's attorney was already halfway to the judge, Sarah nudged her sister, who then jumped out of her seat and hurried over to the judge.

The judge raised an eyebrow at the other skunk in the courtroom and now approaching where he sat. “And who might you be?” he asked, keeping his voice down so just the two 'lawyers' could hear him speak.

"I'm the defendant's representative... and sister. Celia Reynolds of the Gladstone Manor, your honor." She extended the paw for him to hopefully shake.

“I see...” He reaches down, giving her paw a light shake. "Gladstone, eh? I recognize the name. Wealthy man." He gave her a kind smile. It was clear this judge didn’t hold much of a grudge against other species, very much by the book and here to do his job, enforcing the law, deciding cases and distributing punishments in a just and proper way.

Celia didn't know why the judge had wanted to meet, so she just waited for the prosecutor or the judge to hopefully say something first.

“Now, is there anything I should know about before we begin the trial?” he asked the two of them, clearly expecting a response.

Celia sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. "Well, I can say with confidence that's not the smell of skunk musk on that kid," she said. "I mean, it is, but that's not most of it. He stinks primarily of, in my estimation, manure. If you were to smell the scent lingering on Sar– er, my client, you'd notice a smell quite distinct from what the prosecution brought into the courtroom."

The judge raised an eyebrow, looking past the two people in front of him and at the boy, a slight dirtiness to him. “That’s disgusting. You best keep that boy seated," the judge told the human lawyer that stood in front of him.

"Your honor," Celia said, "may I propose the theory that the prosecution intentionally rolled the boy in manure or something similar to worsen the smell he would bring into the courtroom? And if this is true, I request that the odor present not be factored into your final decision."

“Yes, I will take that into account. Now go back to your tables.” He gave them both a light wave, writing down notes on the boy's current smell.

Celia bowed and the prosecuting attorney nodded before walking back to their respective tables, the other lawyer apparently bitter that Celia had seen through his ruse.

The judge slammed his gavel once again. "Right, then..." he said. "We will begin with opening statements. Prosecution, of course, will go first."

The prosecutor slowly stands up, obviously a little flustered from having his plan found out. “I- uh... Your honor, I call Sarah Reynolds of the Jackson Manor to the stand.”

"Gods, man!" the judge exclaimed. "Have you forgotten all of your law training? You cannot call a witness to the stand in your opening statement!"

Celia was glad to have had this happen, because she didn't know that either.

"R-right, your honor..." the lawyer said. "My apologies, the fumes must be getting to my head. I will make my opening statement now." He walked to the floor space between the tables and the judge. Following the conventions of the time, a jury hadn't been assembled for this trial, so it would be up to the judge alone how it would be decided — unless, of course, the eventual ruling was appealed.

"Your honor," the lawyer began, "on the evening of December the sixteenth, my client was visiting the Jackson Manor to spend time with his romantic partner, Marie Jackson. As sometimes happens between kids of this age, the two got into a small argument, the subject of which is unimportant to this trial. As they raised their voices slightly, the housemaid, Sarah Reynolds of the Jackson Manor, entered the room of Marie Jackson without permission. She proceeded to ask them to keep it down, to which my client responded by attempting to shut the door, which of course would limit how much of their argument could be heard outside the bedroom, per Miss Reynolds's request. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the position of the skunk maid, and he ended up closing the door on her body, this resulting in the slight bruising than can be found on her chest.

"She then stumbled back and, without giving him warning, lifted her tail, and performed the unspeakable deed, dooming this poor boy to the worst several weeks of his life. I also have reason to believe she had been aiming her stream at the boy's eyes, as the majority of her musk appears to have been concentrated on his upper chest. Appropriately, he cried out in agony before scrambling, now all but blinded, toward Marie's bathroom to wash himself off in the wash basin. There, he would proceed to vomit not once, but twice thanks to the nauseating stench. As the odor dispersed throughout the rest of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson took notice and ordered my client home and Sarah outside.

"Your honor, I am requesting that you do the right thing today. We are hopeful you will conclude that this skunk's use of her musk was unjustified, and that the appropriate legal measures are taken to ensure that she never does such an awful thing to anybody ever again. This concludes my opening statement." With this, the lawyer sat back down at his table and high-fived Devon under the table.

“Very well. Now, I’d like the defendant's opening statement.” He nodded towards Celia, waiting for her.

Celia patted the table a couple times before standing up, unsure how she could compare to that impressive opening statement. "Your honor," she began. "I will argue that almost the entire story you just heard from the prosecution is contrary to the truth. I will tell you what really happened the night of December sixteenth. According to my client's retelling of events, Mr. Lancaster had, in fact, been physically assaulting Miss Marie Jackson when my client entered the room. She had originally come to request they keep their voices down for the sake of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, owners of the manor, who were at the time sleeping. Once she entered the sleeping quarters of Miss Marie Jackson, however, she discovered the assault. This was when Sarah Reynolds dutifully ordered the perpetrator away from her mistress. She could also see now that Marie Jackson's face had been bruised.

"She raised her tail in warning to the offender, but he evidently was not aware of what skunks are capable of doing once that tail is raised. Mr. Lancaster's lack of knowledge could not possibly have been Sarah's fault. He got off of Miss Jackson and approached Miss Reynolds. This, I argue, would have been reason enough for Reynolds to defend herself with her signature ability, but she held back nonetheless. Only after being shoved and falling onto her back — not nudged by the door, as the prosecution claimed —, did she finally make the ultimate decision to incapacitate the attacker in the most effective way she knew how. And that is the reality of what happened on the night of December sixteenth. This concludes the defense's opening statement." Celia bowed before taking her seat again.

“Very well… Now the prosecution has the floor. Call any witnesses to the stand as you please," the judge said, jotting down the differences in the two stories.

The prosecutor stood up. "I call to the stand Marie Jackson, your honor," he said. Marie, who had been sitting toward the back of the courtroom, stood up and made her way to the stand, sitting down next to the judge.

The smell of the spray was still evident on Marie but by this point it was more like she was just wearing a foul-smelling perfume, making the judge's nose twitch just a bit.

The prosecutor stood up and approached the bench. "Miss Jackson," he said, "what took place on the night of December the sixteenth?"

"Exactly what you said," she replied quickly.

"Exactly? You agree fully with the chain of events I retold just a few moments ago?"

"Yessir."

"No further questions, your honor." The lawyer then sat down back at his table.

"Would the defendant like to perform a cross-examination of the witness?"

"Yes, your honor." Celia stood up and approached Marie. "Miss Jackson, if it is to be believed that your boyfriend Devon Lancaster had not been assaulting you that night, why would your close friends and family members have given sworn statements to the court stating that they'd seen you with bruises on your face the days after the event?"

The young woman looked flustered as Celia brought up her family and friends mentioning that. “W-well I just fell down the stairs is all," she said after no other thought came to her head.

"Your honor," Celia said, "am I correct in my presumption that you have copies of these sworn statements?"

“That I do...” the judge mumbled, pulling out files from various witnesses and looking them over, letting Celia take them if she pleased.

"Will you please read to me how Miss Jackson's loved ones described those marks?"

"Um... 'At least two contusions on her face, vaguely circular in shape'."

"Thank you. Marie, how do you receive circular marks on your face from simply falling down the stairs?"

Marie stayed silent, clearly not wanting to admit that she lied. “Well if she won’t say anything and you have nothing else for her, call your next witness to the stand," the judge said to Celia, letting out a low sigh. This whole trial was already getting on the man's nerves.

Celia panicked a little and froze up. I don't have another witness, she thought. She stood in place for a moment, eyes wide, saying nothing. 

All she could think about was how she'd just killed her sister. Having nothing more to say, she must've looked incredibly guilty. She couldn't think, she couldn't think, she couldn't think!

“Miss Reynolds, if you have nothing then retire the witness and go back to your seat.” His voice was firm.

"I- I..." She felt like she could start crying, and she saw a smile emerge from Marie's face as the human girl watched Celia struggle.


	11. The conclusion

"I call Devon Lancaster to the stand," Celia finally declared.

The judge motioned Marie to leave, Devon walking past her, giving her a glare as the two walked by. He took a seat next to the judge, who immediately recoiled. “You smell like fertilizer, not skunk.”

"How can you be so sure that skunk doesn't smell like fertilizer?" he retorted.

“I’ve smelled skunk, boy. Don’t you dare speak to me with that tone.” The man hissed at him.

Devon immediately appeared intimidated, but continued, "I've been told different skunks can produce slightly different scents. How can we be sure that Sarah's doesn't smell like fertilizer?"

“Because your little girlfriend didn’t smell like a cow's ass when she sat next to me. Now shut your disrespectful mouth!”

"S-sorry..." the boy murmured.

"May I begin my questioning now, your honor?" Celia asked the judge.

“You may," the judge said, sitting back in his seat.

"Mr. Lancaster," Celia began, "you say you had tried to shut the door on Sarah, correct?"

“Yes I did," Devon said with a firm nod.

"And how did she spray you if you'd just closed the door?"

“She opened the door back up.”

"So, you closed the door on her, and she then opened it up again, and that's when she blasted you?"

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

Celia nodded. "Well, it is common knowledge among skunks that it is best to aim for the face of the attacker. This is because that is where the nose and eyes are located, and hitting those areas with the musk will almost certainly incapacitate someone. Now, where on your body was Sarah's spray most focused?"

“My face and my eyes," he said. The boy was so dumb that he was digging a hole for himself and didn't even notice.

Celia paused. "But in his opening statement, your lawyer stated that your chest took most of it."

“Then the lawyer misspoke.”

She tilted her head. "Your honor, permission to sniff the defendant and locate the source of the odor?"

The judge raised an eyebrow but then nodded. “Go ahead.”

Celia leaned over the stand and began by sniffing his face. The boy was visibly disturbed by the skunk's snout getting so close to him but didn't raise any objection. His face definitely smelled unpleasant, but when she next tried to smell his chest, she recoiled back away from the stand, coughing heavily.

“I’m guessing we found where the spray landed?” The judge asked Celia, watching as the woman practically hacked up a lung.

Celia nodded, still coughing into her fist. "Would you like to smell him yourself just to confirm, your honor?"

“I believe I trust your findings.”

Celia nodded. "So, Mr. Lancaster, would you like to revise your statement about being sprayed in the face?"

“I suppose I was sprayed in the chest...”

"The range of a skunk's spray glands is enough that, if both of you were standing up, she should easily be able to hit someone of your height in the face. The range is something well-documented in the medical literature, but if anybody needs that claim verified for them, I'd be happy to do so," she added with a little smirk. "All skunks aim for the face, so if Sarah was standing up, as you say, why were you only hit in the chest?"

He didn’t have anything to say, his story not adding up at all. That, along with all the little details, made him fear he had no chance of winning.

"Objection, your honor," the kid's lawyer called from a little further back in the room. "It's possible that Sarah Reynolds simply missed her target."

Celia confidently shook her head. "Skunks have deadly accuracy. We can accurately hit a target from up to fifteen feet away, and Devon Lancaster was no more than five feet away at this time."

"Overruled," the judge replied to the prosecution's objection. "Mr. Lancaster, do you have anything else you'd like to add?"

Celia took his silence as an admission of guilt. "What makes sense, at least to me, is that the only reason her spray would make contact with an area so much lower than her target is if she was lying on the ground after being shoved, and she was just trying to hit as close to the face as she could while lying on her back."

The judge nods, writing down to confirm he was sprayed on the chest and that she was definitely shoved to the floor just outside the room.

"And if she was indeed shoved to the ground," Celia continued, "that is more than enough justification for her to have sprayed. Because not only would she have been defending the safety of another person — Marie Jackson, who was being assaulted — but she was also defending herself. She did not discharge her spray in malice, but simply in self-defense."

“Very well. If you have nothing else for him...” The judge nods and gives a short wave.

"No further questions, your honor." Celia turned around and walked back over to sit down with Sarah.

“Go back to your seat," he tells the boy next to him.

Celia turned around to Jason and raised her eyebrows, as if asking him, 'How'd I do?'.

He gave her a quick thumbs up, smiling at her. Sarah clearly calmed down a tad but her foot continued to bounce under the table.

"Does the prosecution have any more witnesses to call to the stand?"

“N-no your honor," the prosecuting attorney said, the family behind him clearly getting upset at how he'd practically given up.

"Does the defense have any more witnesses to call to the stand?"

"No, your honor."

“Well I believe I’ve reached a verdict,” the judge announced.


	12. The verdict

”The defendant, Sarah Reynolds of the Jackson Manor, is found innocent of unlawful discharge of musk and will face no further punishment. The prosecution will pay Miss Reynolds 200 pounds for compensation as well as the normal court fees. Dismissed.” The judge smacked the gavel.

Celia and Sarah immediately stood up and hugged each other tight, both the girls crying into each other's shoulders out of happiness. Meanwhile, the Devon kid was arguing quite angrily with his lawyer.

Jason sat back, smiling warmly as the two sisters hugged each other in relief. He looked around at the rest of the people in the room. The judge signed a few papers before leaving and retiring to a back room.

Celia eventually pulled away from Sarah. "We have to go out and celebrate."

Sarah nodded vigorously back. "Oh, but first..." She walked toward the back of the courtroom eyes still a little red from crying out of relief, found Marie's family, and loudly declared to them, "I fuckin' quit," before walking back to Celia.

Jason watched and laughed as Sarah came back over. Her family looked shocked and Marie was pouting now that she didn’t have someone to service her every little need.

Sarah was at first proud as she came back over, but then started looking a little nervous. "Wait, where am I going to work now?" she asked Celia and Jason, as if they were supposed to have some explanation.

Jason stood there, a small red blush coming across his face as he wondered for a moment. “Um… We can see if my father will want another maid?”

Celia shook her head. "Master Gladstone has no interest in hiring another maid, I've talked to him about this before. He actually said he barely even needs me, since it's just you and him living at the manor."

“Well I guess we’ll go over that when we get to it. We can’t just leave Sarah, not alone in this town,” Jason said quickly.

It was hard to tell from Celia’s perspective if Jason was just being sympathetic or if he maybe had a little crush on the other skunk. It wouldn’t be a stretch considering the two are about the same age.

Sarah flashed the kindest smile at Jason. "Thank you, Ja– Master Jason." She bowed.

Celia felt like she was starting to really pick up on something between the two but she didn't dare disrespect her master in any way by verbally acknowledging it. "Master, perhaps we should take her with us back to our manor and look for work on the way there?"

“I suppose... Maybe we can find somewhere close to the manor so that you two can see each other easier?” he suggested as he led the way out of the courtroom.

Sarah and Celia followed. "I don't see why you want her so closeby, Master. If she finds work anywhere other than here, she should take it, no matter the distance between us."

“Well it’s not really for me, Celia. I figured you’d want to be closer to your sister," Jason said innocently

"Master, I've lived far from her for years, I can continue living this way."

“You don’t think you’d like it? Or maybe that _she_ would want to live closer to her sister too?” Jason added, opening the door for the other two.

Celia cursed herself for letting her emotions distract her and letting Jason open the door for her, as opposed to the other way around. "Master, of course I'd like it, but I think she will have to take work anywhere she ca—!"

"Doesn't anyone care what I think?!" Sarah loudly interrupted, pausing their descent down the courtroom steps 

Jason looked shocked but tried to keep his composure, letting the door close behind them. He looked over at Sarah nervously.

The younger skunk shut her eyes hard. "I'm sorry, but... Celia, I really want to live near you again. I missed my sister, and I missed not being the only skunk for miles. Jason, do you know of any neighbors of yours who are looking for a maid?"

“I don't know of any, but I’m sure Celia could ask. Or maybe I can, that’ll probably be easier,” Jason mumbled, nervously twiddling with his fingers, clearly flustered by the way she yelled.

"Then," Sarah said, "after we collect my damages from the court tomorrow morning, I'd like to join you two back to the Gladstone Manor, if you'll allow me."

Celia just looked to Jason to let him alone decide.

Jason gave a short nod. “It’ll be a little cramped, but we can make room for you.” Jason smiled softly toward the younger skunk.

Celia wasn't sure she liked the way her master was looking at her younger sister. "I'll be sitting in the middle," she declared. "If that's ok with you, of course, Master."

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Jason said nonchalantly with a nod, walking down the steps and towards their carriage they rode here on.

"Until then," Sarah said, "why don't we go get something to eat, then go get some drinks? On me, of course, thanks to my winnings."

“Sure,” Jason said as he sat up in the carriage, taking the reins and waiting for the two skunks to join him onboard.

The three of them would go on to move Sarah's few belongings out of her former employer's manor and bring them to a nearby inn where they’d spend the night. Afterward, they would go out and eat before drinking, one of them quite a bit more than the others.


	13. The drunk skunk

Later that same night, the small party finally got back to their room they’d rented at the local inn. Jason, not having had too much to drink, didn’t feel any effects from the alcohol. Celia came through with a light buzz. Sarah, however, left the tavern absolutely trashed, barely able to stand on her own two feet as they walked back. Wanting to conserve as much money as possible — though apparently not doing the same when it came to their alcohol spending — the trio opted to share a small room with just one bed that was barely big enough for two people, let alone three.

Celia felt like she had to play the mother hen for her drunk younger sister. "Sarah, if you hadn't spent all that money on booze, you probably could've bought your own room for the night," she chastised the other skunk as she unlocked the door to their room.

"Yeah, but oh well!" Sarah slurred her words, evidently not caring at all.

"Not 'oh well'! I'm going to have to sleep on the floor because of you!" Door unlocked, she led the other two inside before locking it again behind them.

"I told you I can–"

"No, no," Celia insisted. "I don't want to ride home tomorrow with a sister that's both hungover and badly sore."

"Mmmm fine… Guess that leaves you and me in the bed, hey Jason?"

“Yeah...” Jason mumbled softly, he was lying with his back against the mattress as the two skunks bickered back and forth. Rolling over to his side, he could see Celia grumpily setting up a blanket and pillow on the floor beside the bed.

Sarah dropped herself ungracefully onto the bed beside Jason, whose back was now turned to her. She shook the whole bed as she landed on it. "Thank you for coming to my trial, Celia and Jason... And thank you Celia for putting on your lawyer pants and digging me out of that hole."

"You've already thanked me several times tonight, Sarah. You just can't remember."

Jason sighed as the drunken skunk made the bed shake. He looked down at Celia, upset to see her so irritated but he couldn’t do much to help at this point, knowing she’d refuse to let him take her spot on the floor.

Everything needed for sleep finally in place, Celia extinguished the one lamp in the room, making the whole thing dark. "Night night, drunkards," she said teasingly before lying down on the floor.

“Goodnight…" the human mumbled as the room was plunged into darkness. Rolling over onto his back and closing his eyes, he tried his best to get some sleep.

As she worked to fall asleep, Sarah scooted a little closer to Jason, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Um...” Jason mumbled, looking over towards where her head was resting. A soft red blush crept across the young man's face.

Sarah didn't say anything, her eyes already shut. She just kept her head there, breathing softly as she appeared to be drifting off to sleep. She reeked of alcohol, as well as her slight, residual musk scent.

Jason whined softly, looking away from her to try and ignore the smell. Being around the skunk with her light musk looming over him the whole time seemed to have raised his tolerance for it.

Sarah then threw an arm over Jason's chest, pulling him into her for tight hug.

Jason groaned, but after a few moments came to enjoy the little heat coming off Sarah's warm fur. He scooted a little closer to her after a few seconds.

The semi-unconscious skunk seemed glad Jason was accepting of her advances to the point where he was even reciprocating, so she took it a step further. The hand that had been around his torso began drifting a little further down his midriff.

Jason didn’t take much notice of this, nor did he think twice about the skunk's actions, assuming it was all just being done in her sleep.

When the fur-covered hand began fumbling with Jason's waistband, however, he would have to acknowledge that this was no innocent action.

Jason stayed silent, still doing nothing about her reaching down. In the back of his mind he was just putting the pieces together that she was assuming Celia’s normal duties.

Sarah then opened her eyes, sat up, and after making sure her older sister was sound asleep, threw one leg over his torso so that she was now straddling him.

Jason’s eyes were shut before she began to move, but once she did they shot open, his cheeks blushing a deep red as he looked up at the drunk skunk. “W-what are you doing?”

She laid a finger on Jason's lips as if warning him to be quiet. She then leaned in to Jason's ear. "I saw how you looked at me back at the tavern... I think you and I both want this~" Even from over by his ear, Jason would be able to smell the alcohol coming off her breath.

He coughed lightly and gently pushed on her hips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about...” his voice got a little louder. He was indeed occasionally looking at her in the tavern, but it was mainly just in awe of how much she’d been drinking.

"What, you don't think I'm pretty?" the drunk skunk asked. "I know you're fine being romantic with furreds. I've seen how you act towards my sister. I must say, it's very brave of you not to care what everyone else would say~"

“I didn’t say you weren’t pretty. I don’t… What?" Jason just gave a shocked expression up at the woman. Having been mostly distracted with her odd behavior, Jason had no clue that his dick was slowly growing erect underneath the skunk as she straddled his hips.

"Oh come on!" she purred before leaning in to his ear again. "I’m not the most perceptive, but even I see something in the way you look at her."

“S-she’s just my friend...” Jason grumbled, shuddering against the mattress as she leaned in close to him.

"Bullshit!" she shouted loud enough to send Celia on the floor sitting straight up.

"Sarah!" the skunk hissed. "What are you doing?!"

"Giving Jason a goodnight kiss~!" Still leaned in close, she began planting kiss after kiss on Jason's cheek, whiskers tickling up against his skin.

Jason stayed silent, the blush on his face becoming hotter as Sarah kissed his cheek. His erection was pressing up against Sarah now.

Celia stood up and began swatting her younger sister off of Jason. "Now leave my master alone before we need another trial for unlawful spraying!"

Sarah grumbled as she settled back into her previous place in bed. "Yes, ma'am..."

Jason leaned back into the pillow as Celia got Sarah off of him, though even in the darkness the tent being made in the bed sheets was clear.

Celia glanced down at the rather obvious erection on Jason. "Master," she said, "do you need anything before you go back to sleep? Any services, perhaps?"

Jason gently shook his head, rather flustered and just wanting to ignore his urges at the moment so he could sleep.

Celia bowed. "Very well, Master Jason. Sleep well, and do wake me if Sarah causes any further problems." She looked over to her drunk sister, who seemed to have completely passed out the moment after she got off Jason.

He nodded, rolling to face away from the drunkard and pulling the sheets further up to his face. Shutting his eyes tightly, he tried to get some sleep.

Celia lied back down and, after a few minutes of forcing herself to stay awake so she could listen for more assaults from Sarah, she too fell asleep.

Falling asleep not too long after the others, Jason slept quietly, occasionally rolling from one side to the other.


	14. The morning after

The next day, Jason would wake up with a skunk's white hair strewn across his face. It appeared that during the night Sarah had rolled over to be closer to Jason, and at some point in the process her hair landed on his face. She was now lying face-up right next to him and snoring rather loudly.

Celia got up early that morning, just as she did any other morning. She noticed her sister well invading Jason's personal space as the two slept. Figuring there was no way to move her without waking his master too, she decided to leave them where they were as she went to the bathroom before fetching breakfast.

As Jason woke up he took a deep breath, strands of Sarah’s hair shooting down his throat and making the human cough it up. Miraculously she hadn’t woken up from his labored coughs. 

Getting up with a heavy huff, he walked over to a small bucket of clean water that they used for drinking. He dipped a glass in it and took a few sips of water. Seeing that Celia wasn’t on the floor, he wondered where she had gone off to.

Celia walked back in a few minutes later. "Master Jason, you're up!" she said gently, not knowing yet if her sister was awake too. "Did you sleep well? I hope you don't feel ill from the drinking last night."

He shook his head. “I feel fine. Sarah was a little much though… I wish you'd slept in the bed with me.”

She looked at him apologetically. "Master, I am so sorry," she bowed. "I didn't think Sarah would be so intolerable. I'll definitely have a word with her when she's awake."

“Well she was intoxicated, so she couldn’t really help it. You don’t need to say anything, I’m sure the after effects of the drinks will be enough,” Jason said with a soft chuckle.

She smiled at him, but shook her head. "No. My sister must know it is unacceptable to act inappropriately around my master. I will be sure–"

"Can't you two keep it down over there?!" Sarah groaned from the bed before shoving her head under some pillows, presumably to block out the sound and light of the room.

“Well I think she gets it," Jason said in a quieter way so as to not disturb Sarah as she tried to sleep in. “When will we be leaving?”

"I was actually going to ask you," Celia said. "If we leave soon, we can ride all through the day and make it back to the manor just a couple hours after sundown. If we wait, however, we'll have to split the trip into two days." She set her tray of food down on the only table in the room. "I'll let you decide, Master Jason."

“Well… I’d rather get back sooner than later. Let’s leave shortly. Want to go get the carriage and I’ll make sure Sarah gets up?”

Celia bowed. "As you wish, Master." She then turned to leave.

A few seconds after the door shut behind Celia, Sarah said, "Is the bitch extraordinaire gone?"

“Um… Yes, Celia is gone,” Jason mumbled, clearly a little upset Sarah talked about Celia that way. He walked over to a chair near the bed to take a seat.

Sarah pulled the pillow off her head. "Good. I can't remember most of last night, but I do recall the vague idea of Celia telling me to slow down, or stop, or something. Probably in regards to my drinking."

“No… you straddled my lap… and rubbed my um… crotch,” Jason said, still flustered by the events.

Sarah gasped. Even in her hungover and still slightly inebriated state, she knew she wasn't supposed to do that. Crossing the species boundary, while not strictly illegal, was a massive taboo, and she couldn't believe she'd done it. "Ja- Master Jason, I am so sorry." She stood up out of bed in spite of her pounding headache just so she could bow profusely. "Please accept my apology. I didn't know what I was doing, although that is no excuse. I am so sorry, Master Jason."

“It’s ok, you were drunk. Nothing happened. I accept your apology,” Jason said quickly to calm the woman down. While seeing her panic like that was upsetting to her, at least she was out of bed now.

"Thank you, Master Jason. And please, don't tell Celia about any of this. If she knew, she'd probably leave me behind right here in town!"

“Well, I mean, she’s the one who told you to stop… I think she realizes you were drunk and not thinking straight, so you don’t need to worry about it.” He shrugged

"She saw that I was..." she paused for a moment to choose her words. "Did she specifically see that I was trying to breed with you?"

“No, she just saw that you were trying to kiss me. She also saw that I was erect when you got off but I don’t think she thought you meant to do that to me.”

Sarah exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods... Master Jason, I need you to promise me this will just be our secret, ok?"

“I won’t tell her or anyone, I swear by the gods." He spoke with a small smile.

She smiled back at him before holding out her arm with a single digit extended. "Pinky promise?"

He laughed softly and did the same, wrapping his pinky around hers and giving a quick shake. “Promise.”

"Thank you, Jason... We should grab our things and meet Celia outside."

“Yeah we should.” Jason nodded and packed a few things into their bags, letting Sarah take care of hers while he worked on his and Celia’s.


	15. The ride home

To deter passersby from worrying about the fact that there was a human boy travelling with two random skunks, Sarah changed into her maid outfit just as Celia had already done. The hope was that her occupation would be readily apparent to anybody she may pass on the street. She didn't bother stepping into the bathroom to change, as she'd have her underwear on the whole time.

As she changed, Jason looked over at her, her body just covered by the underwear made his eyes wander around her but he quickly caught himself and shook his head. Grabbing the bags, he went over to the door to wait for Sarah.

Sarah didn't notice Jason looking. She was too focused on getting ready for the day and avoiding eye contact with the human she'd evidently tried to seduce the previous night.

Now dressed, she wandered over to the table where Celia had set down the tray of food. "Looks like there are just two biscuits here," she said. "I guess this inn doesn't have the most robust kitchen. Would you like one?"

“I’ll eat it when we’re on the carriage, just hold onto it for me please,” Jason said as he opened the door, the inn smelling like freshly made dough and just a bit musty from the heavy rain the previous night.

Jason led the way out of the inn, making the safe assumption that Sarah didn’t remember how they even got into the inn last night. Eventually, they were outside, Celia having brought up the carriage to the front of the wooden building.

"Got all our things?" Celia asked Jason as she hopped off the carriage and helped him load a case up.

“Mhm," Jason said, making sure to do most of the work getting everything into the carriage, stepping aside to let Sarah put her things in.

Sarah loaded her one and only suitcase onboard before sitting down in the carriage seat.

"Uh-uh," Celia said to her sister. "You remember what I said yesterday. I'm sitting in the middle."

Jason chuckled and waited in the carriage with the reins in his hands, watching as the sisters worked it out.

Sarah groaned and scooted over. "It's probably better this way, so I can puke right off the side if needed."

The human laughed, letting out a rather ungentlemanly snort, his face immediately blushing a deep red.

Celia was polite enough to ignore the odd sound but Sarah flashed him a raised eyebrow.

"First step the courthouse, then on our way home. You two ready to get going?" Celia asked.

"Yup," said Sarah.

“Yeah...” Jason mumbled and gently whipped the reins, steering the horse toward the courthouse.

The party rode to the courthouse, where Sarah disembarked and came back about thirty minutes later with an envelope of bills and coins in her paws. She hopped back into the carriage, then they all set off for Gladstone Manor.

However, maybe just twenty minutes into the ride, Sarah requested that they pull over. She stumbled a short distance away from the road before doubling over and throwing up onto the ground.

“Well… at least she wasn’t sitting in the middle," Jason said to Celia as the pair watched the younger skunk retch and puke into the muddy grass.

Celia nodded, not taking her eyes off the sick girl. "Lucky for her, I thought this might happen." She reached back to where their belongings were stored. After a moment of fiddling around, she pulled out a glass bottle of water, the top tied down with leather string. "So she can rinse her mouth out and hopefully avoid total dehydration."

“Good thinking,” Jason said, looking around the road that surrounded them for any passersby.

There wasn't anybody in sight. It seemed they were all alone out here in the stretch between towns.

A few minutes later, Sarah managed to compose herself somewhat and stumble back onto the carriage.

In the time she'd been away, Celia had untied the leather cap for her sister. "This is for you," she said, offering the bottle out to her.

"Thanks, sis." The younger skunk accepted it and took a sip, swishing it around in her mouth, then spitting off the side of the carriage.

Jason sighed softly and gently whipped the reins, the horse letting out a labored whine and resuming its slow trot down the dirt road. 

Another hour passed before anything else is said. Sarah spent most of it looking off into the woods with a nauseated gaze.

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Jason asked Celia softly.

"Getting impatient already, Master?" his maid said playfully. "I'd say we're looking at a minimum of eight more hours, perhaps ten."

“Okay...” Jason mumbled, taking one hand at a time off the reins and cracking his fingers.

Sarah drank some more water. She was already looking better now.

"Jason," the younger skunk said, "how much longer will it be before your father returns home from this trip he's on?"

“About two weeks. Why do you ask?” Jason questioned, looking past Celia to her.

"Just wondering how much time I have to find work before I must clear out of your house. If I don't have permission from your father to stay with you, I don't think I should still be there when he gets back."

“Well we have plenty of rooms. As long as you don’t give him a bad first impression, I’m sure he won’t mind you being there.”

Celia let out an uncertain sound. "I wouldn't be so sure, Master... He's very particular about who is allowed in the manor, and I don't think he'd be thrilled with a second furred living there, especially if it's a female about your age..."

“Well I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how he reacts...” Jason mumbled, still obviously wanting Sarah to stay in the manor.

Celia was still unable to tell whether Jason cared so much for personal reasons or just because he wanted his friend to be happy.

"No, it won't come to that," Celia said a little more firmly. "If all goes well, Master, Sarah will find work and be out of Gladstone Manor long before your father gets back."

“And if she doesn't?"

"I hope she does find work, but if she doesn't, we'll have to kick her out, Master..."

Sarah looked a bit upset as Celia said this.

"Master Gladstone cannot know she was ever here. He can't even know we went to her trial."

“Then we won’t tell him about the trial and we can just say she came here herself.”

"That still leaves us with the issue of a coeval, female furred living in the house!"

“Let’s just deal with it when it comes along.” he grumbled and turned his attention back to the road.

"Master," Celia said impatiently, "may I speak to you in private?"

  
After the carriage came to a stop, Sarah would go on to hop out of it and step several paces away so that they may have their privacy.

"Master," the skunk began, "am I correct in inferring that you would really like Sarah to stay with us?"

“Well, yes, so that you may spend time with your sister.”

She didn't look so convinced. "Am I really to believe that that is your only motivation?"

“Yes, that’s it... But you seem really persistent that's not the case.”

"Yes... Master Jason, I mean no disrespect, but... do you have feelings for my sister? These can be feelings of strong friendship, or... other ones..."

“Celia, if I had feelings for your sister, do you think I would have resisted her advances last night?”

"...'Advances'? You mean her kissing you?"

Jason thought for a moment before giving a nod, knowing it would be best not to mention anything else about the incident. “Yes, that’s what I mean.”

"Well, from what I saw, you didn't seem to be actively resisting it. Master, if you've fallen for a furred... I won't tell anyone. I just want you to be honest with me."

“Celia that’s…! We can keep talking when we’re back at the manor,” Jason grumbled. “Sarah! Let’s get going!”

"Master!" she said through gritted teeth. "Please, just-!" Before she could finish her sentence, Sarah was within earshot of them and Celia had to silence herself. Grumpily, she climbed back into the carriage, but this time sat as far as possible from Jason so that Sarah would have to be in the middle.

"Am I getting the middle now?" Sarah asked in a light tone.

"Yep," the older skunk said in a less enthused voice. If Jason really wanted her sister he could have her, but that meant dealing with her smell, too. Although, it was so weak by this point that it could hardly even be described as unpleasant.

Jason looked past Sarah and at Celia, upset that she wouldn’t be next to him. After just a moment, however, he huffed and looked forward, whipping the reins to resume their journey.


	16. The return home

The carriage arrived at the house much later that night. The sun had set maybe two or three hours ago, but they were fortunate enough not to have passed by any shady figures or thieves in those few hours of darkness.

Sarah had fallen asleep shortly after the sun started going down and was now resting her head on Jason's shoulder.

Jason didn’t take much notice of Sarah on his shoulder. The faint coffee-like smell tingled his nose but not in an irritating way. The young man was too lost in thought. Deep down, he did find Sarah attractive, but it didn’t compare to how he really felt for Celia — which itself was still extremely odd to have feelings for the woman who took over the motherly role in his life. 

Gently steering the horse on the clean road in front of the manor, Jason gently rolled his shoulder to wake Sarah up.

"Mmurr...?" the skunk girl purred as she was woken up. She opened her eyes slowly and looked straight into Jason's. "Are we there?"

Celia, on the other hand, was speedier in her dismounting and getting unpacked. Immediately after the carriage came to a stop in front of the house, she jumped off and began removing their belongings.

“Yes we’re her. Now please, I’d like to go to my bed...” Jason grumbled, he wasn’t mad at her. Rather, what he said was just extremely true.

Despite Jason's intentions, Sarah felt like he never wanted her resting on his shoulder in the first place but had been too polite to wake her. She felt like she'd crossed a boundary with Celia's master in her sleep. She sat straight up and immediately assumed the formal housemaid role. "Yes, Master Jason, I'm sorry."

“It’s fine.” He sighed and carefully got out of the carriage, watching Celia remove the last of the suitcases and setting it in front of the manor. Jason then rode the horse and carriage off to the nearest stable, where he'd bribe the keeper not to tell Jason's father that he'd borrowed their second horse.

"Where am I sleeping?" Sarah asked Celia in the meanwhile, both standing in the foyer of Gladstone Manor.

"In the guest room, I suppose."

"They never converted the guest room into a sleeping quarters for their maid?"

"They told me it was too luxurious, and they didn't want fur in the sheets whenever they had people visit, so my room is in a converted closet."

"Celia..."

"It's fine. I'm used to it, anyway. I'll sleep in my normal bed, and you'll get the guest room." Celia carried hers and Sarah's suitcases toward where they'd sleep.

"If you say so..." Sarah followed her sister down the hall.

Jason got back some time later, picking up the last remaining bag in the foyer, the one that held his things.

Sarah hurried to the front door as she heard Jason enter the house. She greeted him with a bow. "Thank you again for graciously letting me stay here, Master Jason. If I can serve you in any way at all while I'm here, please just let me know."

Celia, who'd trailed behind her to see Jason as well, wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but assumed she just meant serve him in the traditional maid ways.

“You can stop talking so formal like that...” he said before walking off abruptly. He was used to Celia speaking to him like that, but Sarah doing it was just odd.

Sarah wasn't able to reply before Jason started off toward his room. She gave Celia a shrug before the older skunk led her sister back to the guest room.

Going straight to his bedroom, Jason began to unpack his dirty clothes and separate them from the clean. He then started to change into his sleeping clothes, deciding that bathing could wait until tomorrow.

A few minutes later, Celia knocked on Jason's door. "Master?" she called. "I think we should conclude that conversation we were having."

“Alright...” Jason sighed and opened the door, motioning Celia in. “Where were we?”

"I was asking you to tell me if you had romantic feelings for Sarah… I won't tell anyone if you do. I just want to know the truth."

“No, I don’t have feelings for Sarah. I think she’s attractive...” Jason spat out the last part quickly, “But I don’t have feelings for her.”

Celia nodded. "After she kissed you last night, I saw how your body had... responded to it. Do you perhaps lack romantic feelings but still feel, I suppose... aroused by her?" It felt weird to talk about her sister like this, but Celia knew it had to be discussed.

“Yeah… I guess that’s a good way to put it.” Jason walked back to his bed, sitting down on the edge and looking up at Celia.

She nodded. "I won't stop you from doing what your body commands you to do, but... I don't need to remind you how improper it is for a human and a furred to have romantic relations, Master."

“I-I don’t plan on doing anything with Sarah!” Jason sputtered out quickly.

Celia was rather relieved to hear this. "That's probably for the best, Master Jason. I know what it's like to have to resist cross-species romance... but it's always for the best."

“Wait… What do you mean you know what it’s like?”

She shook her head. "It's nothing, really. Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk out before bed? Perhaps you'd like to have your nightly routine?" she tried to change the subject.

“No, I’d actually like you to elaborate on what you were saying,” Jason said as he kept his gaze up at her, now quite curious.

She smiled at him and tried to brush it off. "Master, it's nothing, really. Can we please move past this?"

“No, not yet, please tell me," Jason replied immediately in an almost begging way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the two Skunk Maid works diverge! If you think Jason should end up with Sarah, keep reading here. If you think he should get Celia, use this link:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22993489/chapters/54974953


	17. The confession

She sighed. "I grew up not far from this boy. I was maybe just a little bit younger than you are now, and I started to develop feelings for him... Master, I'm sure you can imagine where this goes and I don't need to tell you."

“Oh… Did you, um… you know?” Jason wasn’t very comfortable completing the sentence, not wanting to have the imagery in his head of his practical mother having sex.

"Have… sex? No, Master, we didn't. We had been friends for several years when, one day, I confessed my feelings for him, and we ended up kissing. It turned out that we weren't entirely alone like we thought, and... word got out."

Jason nodded some. “So why are you telling me not to do it? It seems like you just got caught and that was your only problem.”

"Because you will always get caught, Master Jason. And when you're caught, you will be shunned and outcast. While I don't agree with all the ways that furreds are treated in society, I do believe that the stigmas against cross-species relationships are justified."

“I don’t understand how you could be in agreement with that… It seems to all just stem from humans considering furreds lower...” Jason mumbled and kept his gaze up at her.

"Well, although I'm not sure where all these sentiments came from, I'm sure a big factor was the fact that two members of different species cannot have children."

“Well, even then, those two people should be allowed to love one another...”

"But what's the point of a relationship if not having kids of your own?"

“To be happy together? To have someone who loves you? At least that's what all the books say.”

"The books don't know everything, Master... Believe me, when you reach a certain age, having children will be a top priority. And when having children is impossible… that's usually when affairs happen."

“Well how would you know that?” Jason asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This is all just information I've heard from others. There are also a myriad of other ways furreds differ from humans, Master Jason, and I can't possibly get into them all now."

“Alright…” Jason mumbled with a soft sigh, giving her a nod before looking down to the floor.

"Master..." Celia said after a moment. "If you're attracted to my sister and want to get physically intimate with her, and if she wants to as well, I won't stop you. But I also must warn you not to let romantic feelings develop. These kinds of relationships just don't work out, and you'd be happier with a human girl."

“Celia, I didn’t say I wanted to do anything with Sarah," Jason said firmly. “It just upsets me that you had feelings for someone and couldn’t do anything.”

"Master, this is in the past now. I'm sure that boy is living somewhere far off and happily married by now. I'm sure the only reason we even fell for each other was our physical proximity… That'd explain why he settled for a skunk..."

“Alright, well… I’m going to bed now," he said, getting up from the edge of the bed where he sat and pulling up the sheets before getting underneath them.

"No nightly routine then, Master?"

“No thank you," Jason huffed, though the look on his face was a bit uncomfortable. His urges were starting to get to him, having not been relieved for a few days now. Perhaps that was why he was moody.

She bowed. "Very well, Master. I will see you in the morning then." She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jason rolled over onto his stomach, pressing himself against the mattress in a pathetic attempt to secure any source of pleasure on his way to sleep. He didn't have to wait too long for slumber though, as the long day of bumpy travelling quickly caught up to him, letting Jason immediately fall asleep.


	18. The breakfast

The next morning, cooking meat could be smelled throughout the house. There was also some sizzling originating from the kitchen.

The skunk had tied an apron on over her maid outfit as she energetically rolled sausages over for even searing while steadying the pan with her other paw.

As Jason woke up, he immediately caught the familiar smell, all too happy to be back home. He eagerly hopped out of bed and speed-walked down the long corridor until he made it to the kitchen to see Celia happily cooking breakfast.

The skunk looked over her shoulder at him as she heard footsteps approach. "Good morning, Jason!" called an unexpected voice. The sausages now done cooking, she placed them on a plate and turned around, revealing it was Sarah who had been cooking breakfast. "Hungry?"

Jason paused for a moment, a little shocked to see the other skunk cooking breakfast for him. He could’ve sworn it was Celia. Instead of saying anything, he just gave her a short nod and went over to the dining room table he usually sat at, this time sitting in the seat closest to the kitchen so that he could still talk.

She set the plate of meat down in front of Jason. "Hope I cooked 'em how you like."

“Yeah, they look good,” Jason said before taking a bite. It tasted great — maybe even a little better than how Celia made them.

"Would you like eggs, too?" she asked, holding a basket of brown chicken eggs. "I got these from your coop just this morning."

“Yes please,” Jason said with a nod as he continued to take small bites of the sausages.

Curling her tail a little for unknown reasons, Sarah cracked two eggs on the edge of the pan before dropping them into it, starting off a prolonged sizzling sound.

“Why are you making breakfast?” Jason asked her as he looked up from the table.

"Well, it wouldn't be quite fair if I stayed at your house and didn't do a little work, right? How do you like your eggs?"

“Over medium, please.”

"You got it~!" Was that... a hint of flirtiness in her voice?

Jason’s cheeks ran red with a soft blush at her quick remark. He shifted his gaze away from her, where he saw that she had set up another set of silverware and a plate across from him.

A minute later, Jason's eggs were ready. She walked over to the table, grabbed his plate even though it still had a sausage left on it, then delicately placed the eggs onto it before handing the plate back.

"It's funny, I actually prefer my eggs over medium, too," she said before walking back to the stove and cracking three eggs this time.

Jason just nodded, having already started to stuff his face with the eggs. They too were good, but not as good as Celia made them. He watched curiously from the dining room as she cracked three more eggs into the pan.

A couple minutes later, Sarah finished making her own eggs and sat down in front of Jason with them. "So did you sleep well?" she asked as she picked up her knife and fork.

Rather shocked at what she had been doing Jason looked around to see if Celia was around. Surely she wouldn’t have approved of this. “I slept fine. I'm just happy to be home.”

She nodded, but still picked up on how he seemed to glance around the house. "Is... everything ok, Jason?" she asked.

“Celia has never sat at the table and eaten with me here... It’s just a little weird.”

"Oh!" she stood up, grabbing her plate. "I'm sorry, I can take this back into the kitchen if you'd like. I didn't realize I was crossing a line."

“No, no! I didn’t say it was bad! I'm just not used to it,” Jason quickly said. “Please, sit...”

Reluctantly, Sarah sat back down, sitting on her tail with it hanging off the front of the chair between her legs. "Sorry, Jason."

“It’s fine,” Jason mumbled and continued to eat occasionally looking up at Sarah.

She looked at him more frequently and longer than he would look at her. "Jason... is everything ok? Like, between you and me specifically. Was the whole falling-asleep-on-you thing in the carriage too much?"

“No I didn’t mind that… It kept me warm, which was nice," Jason said softly. “I didn’t mean to come off as rude when I woke you up. I was just tired and wanted to go to bed.”

"Oh, I see... Well, does that mean then everything is ok between us?" Sarah knew for a fact that there was at least some mutual attraction between the two. She'd eavesdropped on his conversation with Celia the previous night.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Jason said with a nod.

"Very well," the younger skunk said with a nod. "So what did you and Celia talk about after I went to sleep?"

“She just asked if I wanted to do our normal nightly routine. I was too tired and wasn’t really in the mood.”

"Ah, I see. What's your nightly routine? I've never heard of this before."

“Celia um… She gives me relief,” Jason said in an unsure manner, not certain of the correct words.

"Ummm... How does she do that?" she tilted her head a little as she ate her eggs.

Still not sure what the word was, Jason just brought his hand into view, made a fist, and brought it up and down.

"Celia... plays rock-paper-scissors with you? That's relieving?"

“No, that’s not what we do,” Jason said quickly.

"Well, then what are you trying to mime??"

“She takes my penis and rubs it up and down.”

Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh! She, um, masturbates you? That's very... How in the world did that routine start?"

“I don’t know, but she said maids with young male masters are trained to do it. Something about releasing stress.”

"Oh... interesting. I guess I didn't know that because Marie is my only young mistress."

“Yeah I figured that was why.”

Sarah went on to eat in silence for a while, not sure what to do with this information. However she was also trying to think of ways to get Jason to confess to what he'd talked about with Celia.

Jason finished off what little was left on his plate, thinking about what he should do with the rest of his day.

After eating, Sarah waited for a moment as if waiting for something to happen, then just stood up and started cleaning off her dish.

Jason watched her as she got up, walking over to the counter and putting the dish into the sink. Not thinking about what he was doing he put it into the sink while standing right behind her.

Pretending not to know what she's doing, Sarah ordered her tail to gently caress the back of Jason's legs as he stood close to her at the sink.

Not wanting to walk back and trip over her heavy tail Jason, just stood there awkwardly. “Um… Sarah?”

"Oh!" she exclaimed, lifting it up high. "I'm sorry, Master Jason. I must not've been paying attention to where I let it wander," she said. "It kind of has a mind of its own."

“It’s fine," he mumbled before reaching out, gently petting the fluffy mass, and walking away without a word.

Sarah didn't know how to react to that, other than secretly get excited. "Do you like my tail, Jason?"

He nodded as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen. “It’s really soft.”

"Does Celia ever let you pet hers?"

“Not really. She’s never let me touch it for some reason.”

"Well that's a shame. Would you like to see what a tail really feels like?" she offered, giving the tail behind her a little shake from side to side.

His eyes went from her tail to her rear as she shook her tail, the added motion bringing it to his attention. Giving a nod, he started to walk closer.

Sarah turned slightly so that her tail wouldn't be pulled completely taut, then reached behind herself and held it out for Jason to pet. "I hope it doesn't still smell. I'm sorry if it does."

Jason didn’t say anything as he stood close to her, reaching out his right hand and gently petting the large, soft mass.

The black and white tail gave the slightest twitch as the foreign hand touched it, but then relaxed for the rest of the pet.

He couldn’t help but smile as he continued to feel it, his hand running through the incredibly soft fur.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

“Mhm.” Jason looked up at her with a wide smile.

"If you'd like to pet it some more, we can always sit down on the couch together." She nodded to the 'classroom' couch, the very same one Celia had been hesitant to even sit on with Jason just some days ago.

“Okay.” Jason gave a quick nod before leading the way, taking a seat on the far side of it, waiting for Sarah to join him.


	19. The tail

Sarah sat down with Jason, not on the opposite side of the couch like Celia had, but right next to him. As she slid by him to sit down, he'd pick up on a hint of her musky scent for just a moment before it disappeared again.

Jason’s hand immediately went to her tail, getting more courageous as he petted more and more of it.

She smiled before placing the whole thing right on his lap. "Just be careful about getting too close to the base. I hope I don't need to tell you why that's off-limits."

“Mhm,” Jason hummed and continued to pet the alluring tail. It was so soft and fluffy. It warmed his lap in an instant as it laid over him.

"Hehe," she giggled as he showed no sign of slowing his enthusiasm. "I don't know if I've ever seen someone express this much interest in my tail!"

“Well it’s just so soft!" he said almost childishly, a stupid grin showing on his face.

"I'm glad you think so. Most people are too scared to even get this close."

“How come?” Jason asked her as he gently leaned against her and kept playing with her tail.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a skunk. They're scared of it."

“Well that shouldn’t make a difference. You're still a nice person.”

"Fear is an irrational thing... Most prefer not to even take the chance, and I suppose I can't blame them."

“I guess.” Jason shrugged some, bringing his hand as close to her base without disturbing her then gave a long, deep pet down the length of her tail.

As Jason pet her extra well, she shut her eyes and involuntarily let out a mix between a moan and a purr. Once she snapped out of it, she looked wide-eyed at Jason, unable to believe what she'd just done.

Jason just looked at her curiously. “How come you did that?”

"I-I'm so sorry," she sputtered. "It's a furred thing. I'm sorry, that's so awkward, I didn't mean to..."

“It’s fine, you couldn’t help it… I thought it was kinda cute to be honest.”

Sarah blushed red enough for it to be seen through her fur. "Thank you, but... you probably don't know what it means."

“Well, why don't you tell me?” he said, keeping his eyes focused on hers.

"It's... This is only for some furreds, but sometimes when we're really close with someone, or really intimate, or just letting ourselves be vulnerable, we'll let out a sound like that to let the other person know we trust them. It sounds like you just heard: kind of like a purr, kind of like a whine. Usually just girls do it."

“Oh okay...” Jason began to ease up on the petting, occasionally giving a deep pet like before.

Sarah prevented herself from making that sound again, though one time she did find herself closing her eyes about to do it, before resisting the impulse.

Jason saw the straining on her face as she tried her hardest to keep from making the noise, so he decided to stop petting all together.

Somewhat grateful, Sarah took her tail back from him. "That as enjoyable as you hoped?" she asked playfully.

“Mhm.” Jason smiled happily up at her.

"I'm glad," she said with a kind smile. "And the smell isn't too bad?"

“No, it really doesn’t smell much at all, other than a hint of a coffee-like smell.”

"Yay!" she cheered. "Almost completely cleared up. That's excellent."

Jason laughed as she cheered. “When do you think Celia is gonna be up?”

Her enthusiasm shrank some as she was reminded that all Jason ever seemed to care about was Celia. "Oh, um, she already is up..."

“Oh, I haven’t seen her yet,” Jason said, not taking much notice at how upset the mention of her sister made Sarah.

"Yeah, she headed into town. I told her you wanted fresh fruit as a part of your breakfast."

“Oh, alright. That makes sense now. Well, I’m happy to at least have you here with me,” Jason said gently leaning his head to her shoulder.

"Yeah, guess I'm just barely a little better than nothing, huh?" she baited him. She was thankful Jason didn't ask why Sarah requested fruit on his behalf. In truth, she only did it to get Celia out of the house for a while.

“Don’t think so lowly of yourself. Just because you were drunk the other night and hungover yesterday doesn’t mean I don’t like you today.”

"I suppose... And, hey, you did finally get to pet a genuine skunk tail."

“Mhm, thank you for that," Jason said sweetly.

"You still can pet it if you want to. Just don't make me purr again," she chuckled.

“Well, I think if I do pet you again you’ll purr, so I’ll hold off on it.”

"Yeah, that's probably fair. And I'm sorry for not warning you about it. It's just another one of those things that furreds do without thinking, but that humans think it's weird."

“It’s fine. I didn’t think it was weird. It was kinda cute.”

"You... Cute? You thought it was cute? But I thought only other furreds found it cute."

He shook his head some. “I guess I’m the only human that thinks it’s cute then.”

She smiled. "Guess that makes you special, huh~?" Sarah looked into his eyes for a long moment.

“I guess so.” Jason kept his eyes looking into hers.

She then slowly reached an arm out and placed her paw against his upper arm, giving him plenty of time to change his mind and pull away from her.

Jason looked down at her hand then back at her, not exactly sure what she was planning but not intending to back away either.

"Jason..." she said softly, "are you into me?"

“I… I don’t really know...” Jason mumbled. He shifted on the couch. He didn't want to disappoint or upset her, but he wouldn’t just lie to her.

"You like Celia more? I won't be offended if you say so. I promise I won't spray you."

“Well, I like Celia, but she’s more like a mother to me.”

"And so you think of me... as an aunt or something?"

“N-no! That’s completely unrelated," Jason sputtered out quickly

She sighed. "Then how do you feel about me, Jason?"

“I um… I guess I like you,” Jason said sincerely.

"Like, sexually?"

Jason shook his head, keeping his gaze on her.

She sighed deeply. "Just as a friend then?"

“No, I mean I _like_ like you... I just… I haven’t done anything sexual with you, so I really don’t know.”

This didn't make any sense to her. In Sarah's mind, the only way a human could like a furred is sexually or platonically. Being romantically interested just wasn't an option to her. "Wait, then... In what sense do you like me, Jason?"

“I think you’re pretty... and really kind. I’d like to get to know you a lot more, too.”

"...This all just sounds like you want to just be friends. Is that it?"

“No, no that’s not it,” he said immediately in response.

"Then what is it?!" she asked with a small bit of a growl, growing impatient.

Jason was startled by the growl and decided to just leap into it. He gently pressed his lips to hers.

Her eyes widened in surprise before shutting. That was all she needed to be said. She kissed him back.

Jason was clearly an amateur as he kissed the skunk, a deep crimson blush across his face.

Sarah didn't seem much more experienced than Jason was. She leaned more heavily into the kiss, pushing him onto his back on the couch.

Jason was startled as he was pushed back onto the couch by her, but he didn’t fight it. The gentle kissing felt natural. Just as he finally started to get settled in, however, a loud thud came through the house.


	20. The truth

As the thud of a door shutting reverberated through the house, Sarah immediately got off Jason, knowing that the living room was just a couple rooms over from the main hall. She pulled Jason up into a sitting position and immediately set to work straightening out her fur so it didn't look as rustled.

Jason just sat there and blinked a few times, still recovering from it all. That's when he realized that his shirt was coated in the skunk's distinct black and white fur.

Celia verbally announced her entrance as she walked in, but the younger skunk was too panicked to even hear the words. Sarah was furiously brushing at the fur practically covering Jason's chest before she was forced to stop by the sound of Celia's footsteps getting close. She sat up and just silently prayed to all the gods she could think of that her sister wouldn't notice.

"Hello, Master and Sarah," Celia said with a bow to Jason as she walked into the living room.

“Hi, Celia," Jason said quickly, staying sat down on the couch and just turning his head in an attempt to give Celia the smallest possible view of his chest.

Jason's maid sniffed the air a bit. "Did Sarah make you breakfast, Master Jason?"

“Yes she did… She eade sausages a little better than yours. Maybe you should ask for some tips?” Jason teased, trying to get the conversation onto an entirely different subject.

Celia didn't look so amused. "Hm," was all she said as she walked toward the kitchen. "I brought the fruit you wanted, Master."

“Thank you!” he yelled out and slumped back into the couch, looking over at Sarah.

Sarah mouthed to Jason, 'That was close'.

Jason chuckled softly and nodded. Standing up, he quickly made his way down the hall to his room to change his clothes.

As Jason went to go take care of that, Sarah would meander into the kitchen.

"Why is Jason's scent all over you?" Celia asked her sister after visually confirming that the boy wasn't with her.

"How did you...?"

"I ought to know what my master smells like. Now answer me." Celia had a serious tone to her voice.

"We... tripped?"

"Bullshit!" she replied loud enough that Jason would be able to hear her from his room.

Hearing all the commotion Jason sighed and hurried down the hall. Calmly walking into the kitchen, he tried to make it look like he wasn’t panicking.

When Jason walked in, Sarah would be weakly trying to defend herself while Celia stood in the opposite corner of the kitchen buying none of it. The older skunk sister's tail floated just slightly off the floor.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked, having changed his whole outfit into his day clothes.

Celia sighed as Jason walked in. "Master, I thought I warned you against acquiring feelings for a furred."

“Celia, I don’t know what you’re talking about...” Jason said with a sigh. “I know we already talked about that last night. You say it as if I wasn’t there.”

"Then why do you two share each other's smells? You especially, Master. Sarah's particular odor clings to you."

“Well, she was laying her head on my shoulder as we rode yesterday for a couple of hours. I didn’t bathe last night, so that’s probably why.”

"Don't lie to me, Master. The intensity of your smells is nothing like yesterday."

“Well I don’t know what to tell you Celia,” Jason said with a shrug and leaned against the wall. He didn’t show it, but he was incredibly nervous.

"You can start by telling me the truth," she said, looking between the two of them. "Like I said last night, it's none of my business if you two decide to be... intimate with each other. But if you start acting romantic, Master, I'm afraid that's when I must step in to protect you."

Jason stopped, gnawing on his bottom lip thinking for a moment before opening his mouth. “Fine. We just kissed, and that was it. Happy?”

Celia nodded. "So you two have no romantic feelings for each other?" She looked to her sister, who remained silent.

“I don’t know... I guess time will tell," Jason said with a shrug, the whole conversation making him embarrassed and a blush grow on his face.

Sarah flashed an eager smile, and this made Celia mad enough to stomp her foot once and raise her tail. "Master, I forbid you from doing anything romantic with Sarah!"

“I didn’t say we were! Celia, I want to live my life, too! I want to experience things! Am I not allowed that?!” Jason quickly yelled back at her, his fists balling up. A wave of emotions hit him at once, tears welling up in his eyes as he raised his voice at her.

Celia wasn't entirely sure how she should react. Possibly against her better judgment, she decided to dig her heels in further. She dug around in her memory for just a moment as she recalled something Master Gladstone once told her. "Master Jason, per the express wishes from your father, I forbid you from romancing Sarah!"

Frozen up by the mention of his absent father, he calmed down a bit, but that spark of anger remained. “And what did he have to say?”

"In a private conversation I once had with your father, he expressed to me that he hoped his son would never enter relations with a furred. I am now enforcing that hope of his." Though this was true, this little fact wasn't nearly her main reason for forbidding their love. In reality, she was both protective of her sister and envious of her. By now she'd let her tail relax back down, but she was still quite on-edge.

Jason’s anger, sadness, and sense of overall helplessness in this world fell on him all at once and this was shown in his expression. Without another word, he stepped out of the kitchen, walking away before mindlessly walking down the long hallways of the manor.

"Master!" Celia called. "Master, where are you going?!"


	21. The secret

Sarah was quick to chase after him, catching up after a moment. "Jason…" she said softly.

“What?" he said in a way that didn't even sound like a question. His voice was choked-up as he didn’t stop walking.

He wasn’t mad at Celia, as he saw her as just the messenger. He was mad at his father, a thought that seemed to be pestering him since the man had left.

"Jason, I'm sorry Celia was acting like that... Please don't be angry at her, she's just misguided."

“I’m not upset with her," he said plainly before he turned down another hallway.

"Then... why do you look so angry right now?" she asked as she followed along.

“Because I hate my father. All he’s ever done is control my life — making Celia to tell me what to do and not to do, how to act — I’m sick of it!”

Sarah stepped a short distance away from Jason as he vented his anger but kept following him. "I'm sorry. But I hope you know that, whatever Celia and your father say, we don't have to listen to them."

Jason didn’t know what to say, a million things going through his mind. The majority were Celia’s voice just echoing through his head. Deciding not to say a word, he kept walking.

"...Jason? Where are we even going?"

“I don’t know.” He sobbed and slumped against one of the walls, sliding down until he sat on the floor, his face in his hands.

"Jason, I hate to see you like this..." Sarah said, kneeling down in front of him.

He didn’t have anything to say. He just sat there with his thoughts and self-pity.

"Jason... please talk to me... Jason?" She reached forward and gently took hold of his wrist.

“What?" he mumbled softly, looking up into her eyes. “What do you want to talk about?”

"What are we gonna do about this?" she asked. "I mean... we can't just do nothing."

“We can try and just hide it, or just do it anyway… Just ignore what Celia says.”

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

He mumbled something before slowly sitting up straight against the wall.

Sarah stood up and extended her paw out to help Jason up. "Come on. Why don't we go tell Celia that we've decided to just be friends? Then we can just date in secret. Hopefully I'll find work in a nearby manor and we'll be able to see each other often."

Jason smiled some and nodded, taking her soft paw and standing up.

She looked back down the hall they came. "Uhh... Do you know how to get back? I sure don't."

“Yeah I know the way," he said and gently pulled her along the winding hallways

She followed behind him, still holding onto his hand. As she started to recognize their surroundings, however, she let go of Jason's hand so that Celia wouldn't be suspicious.

Jason took a step away from her to put a little distance between them. Not long after, they were in the kitchen again, Celia silently putting away fruit with an upset look on her face.

"Celia..." Sarah said as the walked in.

This elicited an upset glare from Celia at her sister, but luckily her tail remained on the floor this time. "What is it?"

“We’re just gonna be friends. We talked it over,” Jason said, trying to play the part and seem upset.

Celia looked between both of them. "And you're being honest? This isn't a trick?"

"Yes, Celia," Sarah said impatiently.

The human nodded slowly. “I’m going to respect my father's wishes.”

Celia gave them a nod. "Very well, then. Thank you, Master. It's for the best this way."

Jason sighed and walked away from the kitchen, still trying his best to act upset about the whole thing. Heading back to the 'classroom', he took a seat on the couch he'd been sitting on earlier.

Sarah walked up to her sister. "Celia? Is it ok if I sit with Jason right now? It's not romantic. It's just two friends spending time together."

"Yeah... That's fine," the older skunk said with a sigh.

Sarah bowed before walking to the living room and sitting on the same couch as Jason, this time with a couple feet between them.

Jason looked over at her with a small smile. “Think it worked?”

Saria whispered back, "I think so... When does this father of yours get back anyway?"

“About two weeks," Jason said back, keeping his voice hushed.

She nodded. "That should be plenty of time for me to find work... I hope I can get somewhere close."

“That would be great if you did. Even if it was just in the same town.”

She nodded. "Maybe we can establish a certain time and place, then both sneak out once a week and meet there."

“That would work,” Jason smiled and nodded, having to force himself to keep his voice down

"Let's just hope my new master isn't too controlling…"

“Well, there are restaurants that have furred workers in the town around here. You could try that?”

"I suppose I could... Although I have no experience in working with food. And that wouldn't provide housing like work in a manor would."

“Oh right… Hm, well maybe ask Celia about the local manors?"

She sighed. "Fine, I can do that... Do you know any of your neighbors very well?"

“Not really...”

"Alright... Celia it is then. Should I go talk with her now?"

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea.”

Sarah stood up, straightened out her maid outfit, then walked into the kitchen to talk with her sister.

She walked back into the living room a few minutes later, sitting down next to Jason with a sigh. "She told me she knows a few houses that may be looking for maids, but that she doesn't have any connections that can help. She said my best bet is just knocking on the doors of these houses and asking if they need a maid."


	22. The job hunt

The following day, Sarah set out from Gladstone Manor, Jason at her side, to visit some neighboring houses and ask if any were in need of a maid. Although, the word 'neighboring' could hardly be used to describe the nearest houses, as there was an average of over a mile between each manor they planned to visit.

Finally reaching the end of a long, forested path, the skunk and human would find themselves on the porch of an impressive brick house.

"You should probably stand in front," Sarah advised Jason as they approached the door. "If the first thing he sees is a furred, he might feel threatened."

Jason nodded. She was probably right, and he didn’t understand the prejudice against furreds so he wasn’t very knowledgeable on the subject. Taking the lead from then on, Jason walked up the path to the house, knocking gently on the large wooden door.

Sarah stood back and waited. About ten seconds passed before someone answered the door. It was an older lady. "Why, hello there," she said, focusing exclusively on Jason and ignoring Sarah. "You're the Gladstone boy, aren't you?"

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry that I’m coming to you without notice, but do you have a few minutes?” Jason said kindly, a small smile on his face.

"For you, of course. I hope you don't mind my asking that your skunk stay outside, though. She won't run away, will she?"

“No she won’t run away… But I’d like to stay here if that’s okay. My maid's sister was looking for a new job, would you be interested in a maid? She has experience already so you wouldn’t need to worry about training her.”

She looked over at Sarah for a moment, then wrinkled her nose and looked back to Jason. "No thank you, Jason. I don't need any more servants at the moment, and even if I did, I think I'd look for something other than a skunk. I hope you can find someone to take her though!"

“Ok, thank you ma’am. If you would be so kind, I'd appreciate it if you'd let other manor owners know there’s a maid for hire. Have a good evening ma’am,” Jason said with a friendly smile.

"I'll see what I can do. Nice seeing you," she said before shutting the door.

Sarah sighed. "I must say, I didn't expect being a skunk to count against me here," she said.

“Well she’s an older woman, maybe that mild smell just doesn’t appeal to her,” Jason said with a shrug as he led the way back down the path and to the road.

Sarah shrugged as well as she let him lead the way to the next house. "Let's just hope this next person doesn't mind it..."

“Hopefully not,” Jason said with a sigh as they came upon the next manor. It was a bit smaller than the last one, but still home to wealthy individuals.

They repeated the same routine as they approached this one as the last: Jason went ahead and knocked on the door while Sarah hung back.

A meek-looking girl of indeterminate species, possibly dog or cat, opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked, wearing a maid outfit very similar to Sarah's.

“Hello. Are your masters home? I’d like to speak to them, if that’s alright,” Jason asked softly, taking a short peak past the woman and into the house.

She nodded timidly. "What's your business?"

“I was helping one of my maid's family members, this skunk, try and find work. She has previous experience as the sole maid of a manor, so she’s trained and everything.”

The girl looked scared and shook her head. "No... no..." she said, the fact that her English wasn't great becoming obvious. Perhaps she was foreign, and that's why neither Jason nor Sarah could identify her species. "You're not want working here." She kept her voice low. "Master cruel man. Work else."

“I-oh… Um, ok,” Jason said, a little frightened at the woman’s response, giving her a short wave before stepping away.

"I tell him you selling product. Go, quick." She shut the door with haste.

Sarah, having only heard part of the conversation thanks to how low the other maid kept her voice, asked Jason, "What was that all about?"

“Apparently her master is cruel.. Let’s just go,” Jason said as he motioned her to back away before walking away from the house himself.

Sarah walked with him. "Cruel? That's terrible... I hope that poor girl is ok."

“Yeah I hope so too," he said as he led them back down the path to the other manors. The sun started to set as they were about halfway to the next one.

"Let's hope this one's a little different..." she said as she let Jason walk up to the door to knock on it.

Knocking firmly on the door then stepping back, he waited for a response. He slowly shifted his weight back and forth between his shoes as the pair waited.

A short moment later, a man, seemingly middle-aged and well-dressed, answered the door. After cautiously eying the skunk behind Jason, he asked, "Can I help you?" in a smooth tone.

“Good evening sir. I was wondering if you’re interested in a maid. This is my maid's sister. She has experience, so you wouldn’t need to get her any sort of training at all.” Jason spoke quickly, getting straight to the point rather than dancing around what they were there for.

He looked at Sarah in silence for several seconds. All she could do while waiting for a response was smile awkwardly and give a little bow.

Finally, the man said to Jason, "Can I get a closer look at her?"

“I suppose you can...” Jason said slowly, taken aback by the odd request.

Sarah stepped closer until she was standing between Jason and the man. There, the man took a single step out onto his porch to get a better look at the skunk. He wrinkled his nose. "I presume she's not descented?"

“She is not.” Jason gave a nod, forcing his expression to appear neutral despite feeling a little disturbed by the man's odd demeanor.

"Hmmm..." He took a step back to where he was originally standing. "How much do you want for her?" he asked, apparently under the impression that this was an illegal slave trade Jason was offering.

“I-I mean she’d work for you… I’m not selling her. You’d pay her," Jason said, not so sure he wanted Sarah to be living in this manor.

He looked a little disappointed. "Oh. Well that's acceptable, too. Shall we discuss monthly wages inside?" he asked, taking a step back from the door to let them in.

“I suppose we can,” Jason said softly. He looked to Sarah, trying to gauge if she was okay with this or not.

As the man turned to lead them inside, Sarah just gave Jason a quick shrug before following the homeowner down the hall.


	23. The strange man

Jason followed them inside, looking around the manor as they went through. He found that it was like the one his father owned, but just a tad smaller.

As they walked, Sarah couldn't pick up on the scent of any other furreds living in the house. It would seem this man lived alone.

He led them to the kitchen table. "Pardon me for not introducing myself," he said. "My name is Robert Kinsley. You're the Gladstone boy, yes? James?"

“Jason, but yes sir my father is Mr. Gladstone.” He says and takes a seat across the table from him. “Pleased to meet you sir.”

"Likewise. And how did you come to know the lady?" He looked over to Sarah, who still hadn't said a word because she hadn't been spoken to yet. As he glanced, his eyes seemed to be tracing the skunk's form and all her curves. Sarah was starting to get uncomfortable, but she didn't let this feeling manifest itself in so much as a flinch of her tail.

“Well, like I said, she’s my maid's sister. She quit her last manor job and was needing a new job,” Jason told him truthfully, not picking up on the way he was looking at her.

"Judging by the smell, you seem to have left them with a parting gift, eh?" he said jokingly.

Sarah still wasn't sure if she'd been spoken to or if that was just a rhetorical question. Either way she was bummed he could pick up on the smell of her musk. She just laughed and shook her head no.

“So what kind of wages were you thinking?” Jason asked, just trying to get the conversation moving so they could leave.

"Oh, just the standard. Around ten pounds per month?"

Sarah nodded, as this was about what she'd been making at her previous manor.

“That sounds good,” Jason said. He seemed to remember that Celia was paid a few pounds more, but she also had more to do. So, this seemed like a fair price for Sarah.

"Very well," Mr. Kinsley said. "Bring your belongings by tomorrow morning for your first day of work then, Miss..." He chuckled, "I'm sorry, I don't believe I ever got your name."

"It's Sarah," the skunk girl said. "Sarah Reynolds." She stood up and bowed. "Pleased to be at your service."

Jason stood up. He was happy that she had gotten the job, but also upset that she was leaving so soon.

"Glad to have you working for me then, Sarah," he said before leading them to the door. "I'll have your contract and uniform ready tomorrow. I'll see you then."

Now standing on the porch, Sarah gave him a bow and a smile.

The door shut, and after a few seconds Jason looked over at her. “He, uh… gave me some weird feelings," Jason commented as they started to walk down the path leading home.

The maid nodded. "Yeah, me too... But work is work. And at least his house isn't too far from yours, so we should be able to meet up somewhere."

“Mhm, that’s good...” Jason mumbled as they walked. He was happy for her but, still, the whole situation rubbed him the wrong way. He hoped that she would be okay while working for him.

As they walked through the wooded path, Sarah realized the two of them wouldn't have many more opportunities to decide on a meeting location. "We should pick a spot to meet up now," she said quickly. "How about over here?" Sarah walked over to a tree that seemed to be split down the middle. She estimated it was about halfway between the two manors. "We could meet here?"

Jason looked over the tree, noticing that it must’ve been newly grown. The bark was a dark brown and the leaves a vibrant green. “This looks like a perfect spot.”

She nodded before returning to their walk on the path, glad that had been decided. Sarah waited a short while to see if Jason would bring up anything else as they walked.

“Well… Celia isn’t expecting us for a while...” Jason mumbled softly. “Since this is going to be our last night together for a while...”

Sarah looked over at him with a grin. "No way. Were you thinking the same thing as me?"

He laughed softly and shrugged. “Wanna turn back and stay by that tree for a while?” Jason asked, grinning over at her.

She looked up and down the road. Now under the cover of darkness, they should be able to get away with it, even if somebody did pass by. All they'd have to do when they heard approaching footsteps is stay still and they should be safe. Sarah gave Jason an eager nod before turning around, her tail curling in eager anticipation.

He reached over, taking her paw and slipping his fingers between hers as he quickly led them back down the road to the tree. He gave her cheek a quick peck along the way, a soft, red blush across his cheeks.

Sarah blushed too as she was kissed. She tightened her paw around Jason's hand until she felt her claws start to make contact with his skin. She couldn't believe she was finally going to lose her virginity!


	24. The experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we really start getting somewhere this chapter, here's some more visual aid, as promised ;)
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/uFoPIAy

Jason smiled as they kissed, not giving any attention to the slight pressure of her claws against his hand. He gently pulled her closer as they kissed, enjoying this time they had to spend together.

After reaching down to her waist and grabbing ahold of her clothing, Sarah pulled away from Jason's kiss for a moment just to suddenly lift the one-piece maid outfit off over her head. She still had her bra and panties on, but due to their lacy design, they could be seen right through to the fur underneath. "C'mon, Jason~!" she practically purred as she went in for another kiss.

His blush got even worse as his eyes quickly ran over her body. “S-Sarah, I thought we were just kissing!” The young man was clearly apprehensive about this, though he couldn’t deny she was totally stunning. He just hadn't been expecting to do this tonight.

"Oh. Oh!" she cried as she realized she'd hugely misinterpreted the situation. She hurried to hold her removed maid outfit over her chest to preserve some modesty. Of course, even if she had no underwear on, very little if anything could be seen through her fur, but furreds were still generally expected to follow human guidelines of decency. "I-I'm so sorry, Jason. I thought... No, I'm so foolish. I'm sorry."

“I mean, it’s okay!” Jason said, wanti ng to mend the awkward situation. “I um...I don’t mind if we do it, just maybe not so suddenly?” His voice was low. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready. She’d definitely be the one taking the reins in their first few intimate encounters.

"Right, of course... Um, would you mind turning around so that I can put my outfit back on?"

Jason nodded, turning around to face the tree. He looked it over a few times, sighing deeply.

She slid the outfit back on over her head. "Ok, you're good now."

He turned back to her, stepping back over and taking both her paws before gently kissing her cheek again.

She looked away and sighed. "So you just wanted to kiss, was it?"

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t think we would go that far this quickly...” he said nervously, leaning back against the tree and looking at Sarah. He felt desperate to make eye contact as she looked away from him, feeling like he had done something very wrong.

"No, you're right. I'm sorry. Furreds tend to be a little more direct when it comes to this kind of thing. I'm happy to take it at your pace." The skunk then walked a little closer, turned her head to the right some, and leaned in for a kiss. She held her hands against Jason's hips to stabilize herself.

Jason leaned into Sarah's kiss, keeping most of his back against the tree as he kissed her again. His eyes slowly closed and he gave her paws another short squeeze as they kissed in the silent forest, isolated from the rest of the world.

For a while the only sounds detectable were the gentle smacking of their lips, their respiration, and the occasional bird fluttering somewhere nearby as if it were some casual observer.

Jason got tired of holding her paws, removing his hands from hers before resting them on her hips. He gently rubbed up and down her sides, nothing more, as the pair continued to kiss in the dead of night.

Eventually, Sarah would take her hands off Jason's hips and gently grip his wrists. She then guided his hands up toward her chest, all while still making out with the human.

Jason's heart fluttered in his chest as his hands were guided toward the smooth contours of her chest until resting on the two, soft globes. Not exactly sure what to do with them, he just gently squeezed them through her outfit's fabric, curiously feeling them up.

Sarah was forced to pull away from Jason's mouth as he squeezed her tits. "You've never felt boobs before, have you Jason?" she asked.

“N-no, I haven’t...” he replied, keeping his voice low despite no real reason to do so.

"Well, familiarize yourself with 'em," the skunk ordered, lowering her outfit so that she could pull both fur-covered tits out of it. They weren't quite big enough to be fully circular in shape, though they were still decently large.

Jason’s blush got even worse as he saw Sarah’s bare chest — well, about as bare as a furred could get. Gently putting his hands back onto them after she exposed them, he could feel the soft fur standing up between his fingers. He squeezed, held, and carefully toyed with them for close to three minutes straight without saying a single word.

"You know," Sarah said, "the nipple is the most sensitive part, if you wanna play with that."

Jason hadn’t thought of that, but no doubt had grazed past it multiple times by now. Almost expertly, he pinched his fingers around the small nubs on both of her breasts and gently squeezed them.

Sarah let out a much louder moan than intended, but still not one likely to catch the attention of anyone in their home. Her tail curled high behind her as she let out the same purr-whine as the day before.

He adored the purring. It was so sweet and relaxing to him. Gently coaxing her closer to that purring made him feel even closer to Sarah as he toyed with her soft bust.

The skunk relaxed more and more, leaning forward until her chest was pressed right up against Jason's, practically pinning his hands between their two bodies.

He leaned his head forward — not a very difficult task with how close they were — and passionately kissed her. His hands gently moved away from her breasts, allowing him to feel her tits press against his chest. Jason then moved his hands back down to her hips, as they were minutes ago.

Sarah's hands had returned to Jason's hips as well. She pulled his waist against hers as she felt something harden down there.

Jason up to now hadn't taken any notice of his member slowly growing hard as he felt her up. Now that she was pressing against him, however, he took full notice of it, blushing a deep red and pulling away from the kiss.

As she felt the impulse to grab his dick and demand he fuck her grow harder and harder to resist, Sarah stopped herself, pulling her body off of Jason's. "We should get going," she said abruptly.

“N-no...!” Jason sputtered out quickly. His hands, still on her hips, jerked her body as he quickly tried to pull her back, his actions driven by a deeply buried instinct.

At the sudden pull of her hips, Sarah's instincts kicked in as well. She turned as far away from Jason as she could in the confines of his grip. With her tail already raised, there was nothing stopping her from spraying.


	25. The grave mistake

Sarah could feel as two small nubs suddenly extended from her asshole but, mercifully, did not fire.

"JASON!" the skunk hissed at him before turning back and slapping him across the face. "Idiot!"

Jason winced as he was slapped, tears welling up in his eyes as just the plain word ‘idiot’ cut him incredibly deep. “I-I’m s-sorry." His voice cracked. He stepped away from the tree, taking multiple short steps down the trail. Before turning his back and looking down in the direction of the manor, he took a deep breath and gave Sarah a small wave, beckoning the skunk to follow.

A faint but awful smell hung in the air after that close encounter, but luckily it didn't linger. Sarah hurried after the human. "Jason, I didn't mean that..." she tried to insist as she chased after him.

He didn’t listen, his mind clogged up with a thousand voices yelling at him for being so forceful with Sarah, something he never wanted to do to.

"Jason!" She finally caught up enough to rest a paw on his shoulder.

He froze and looked over his right shoulder at her, the tears that were welled up in his eyes moments ago were now streaming down his cheeks.

"Jason, look," she said, "I'm sorry for hitting you and calling you an idiot. You just... almost made me spray back there. And we just got back from a trial over that very thing. If I got caught spraying again so soon after the first time, I'd be found guilty and killed for sure!"

“I-I know. It’s my fault, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to... If you want to go back now then let’s just go… Hopefully Celia won’t notice the smell...” Jason said, clearly trying his best to keep his composure.

She shook her head, offering him a smile. "Don't worry, there is no smell. If you're feeling ok enough, we can keep walking now."

“Yeah, yeah, I feel fine,” Jason said and continued to walk. He completely ruined the evening for her. He regretted even opening his mouth when Sarah began to take her clothes off. He was cursing at himself in his head as they walked.

Sarah walked quietly beside him for a while. As Gladstone Manor came into view, she finally said to him, "You sure you're ok?"

“I’m okay,” Jason said calmly as they walked. Soon enough, they were back on the front porch of the manor.

"You know, it's normal for a person to be kind of shaken-up after such a close brush with getting sprayed. If you'd like, you can take a minute to sit down before returning to Celia."

“No, I’m fine. It wasn’t that. I just... I’m sorry I tried to force it on you… That wasn’t right. I’m upset at myself for doing that to you.”

"No, Jason, you didn't force anything on me. If anything, I accidentally forced myself upon you by suddenly taking my clothes off back there. And when I tried to suddenly stop it all and get off of you, you just had a natural reaction of wanting to continue. Unfortunately, that almost made me have a skunk's natural reaction to being grabbed... but we're lucky nothing happened."

“Yeah… So, we’re all good?” Jason asked, looking over to her. He wanted to make certain she wasn’t mad at him.

"Let me see your cheek," she said, using her paw to turn his head to the side and examine where he was slapped. "It's a little red still... Think Celia will notice?"

“Well if worse comes to worst, we can just say an old lady slapped me,” Jason laughed softly.

Sarah laughed with him. "Yeah, fair enough. Come on, let's go inside," she said.


	26. The dinner

Celia was in the kitchen preparing dinner. "Welcome back, Master," she called when she heard the creaky front door open.

“Hi Celia," he said loud enough for her to hear. Jason let the door close behind them and walked over to Celia in the kitchen. “We found a manor.”

She looked over her shoulder as she stood at the stove. "Wow, really? That's great, Master! At which manor will she be working?"

“Mr. Kinsley's,” Jason said with a sigh, walking closer to see what she was cooking.

Celia didn't quite freeze, though she did slow down in her stirring of the pot. "...Kinsley? Is he that friend of your father's?"

“I think so... I didn’t really like the way he was acting. He seemed off,” Jason said.

"Your father likes to visit him occasionally, but he never told me what the two of them do... Well, hopefully Sarah will be able to finally tell us what that is."

“Is it something we should be worried about?” Jason asked, looking clearly concerned.

"Oh, probably not. I always picked up on the smell of other furreds when your father would come back from those visits. I'm sure if Mr. Kinsley tried something on Sarah, she'd have her coworkers at the manor to protect her."

“Well I don’t think he had any other furreds in the manor...”

After a quick visit to the bathroom, Sarah sat down at the kitchen table. "What're we talking about?"

“Mr. Kinsley.” Jason said, looking at her before turning back to Celia.

"Jason's saying that there weren't any other furreds working there, but I know that must be wrong because I can always smell them on Master Gladstone when he comes back from Kinsley Manor."

"No, Jason's right..." Sarah said. "I couldn't smell any other furreds while I was there. I'm certain none live in that house or have set foot in it in quite some time."

“So... what do we make of that?” Jason asked nervously.

"Does he… house his servants somewhere outside of his manor's main building?" Celia suggested.

"But surely they'd still work in the main building, and I would be able to smell them if that's the case."

"Then... Maybe he just doesn't have any servants right now. Maybe his old servants just were fired or quit or... even died?"

"I guess that's possible..."

Jason watched them talk in silence, rather nervous about the possibility that all the older servants had died or, worse, just been locked up all the time.

"Jason," Sarah whispered to the human, "I'll be fine. No one's going to hurt me. And if they do, well that's just about the biggest mistake they could make." She smiled and gave a flick of her tail.

Jason smiled and nodded some, the comment reassuring him some. He reminded himself that he may just be feeling tense as of late thanks to not having been relieved for several nights now. But after telling Sarah what his nightly routine with Celia was, he wasn’t sure she'd wanted him to do it.

"Celia," Sarah said suddenly, "may I perform Jason's nightly routine? That will just make me more hireable should this thing not work out with Mr. Kinsley."

Jason’s face blushed red, but he kept his expression calm, his eyes darting around the room as he thought ran through his mind. He prayed in his head that Celia would say yes.

Celia sighed and set down the wooden spoon she'd been stirring with. "That is up to Master Jason, I suppose. Although I'm sure Master would prefer it be performed by a more experienced hand."

“It doesn’t really matter. And it would give Sarah more experience and more things to say she’s done to make her a better hire in the future.”

The older skunk thought for a moment. "Fine. But don't think I don't know why you're doing this. As I said, it's ok if you do it, just don't develop romantic feelings for one another."

“Mhmmm,” Jason hummed as he shifted in his chair, looking over at Sarah with a soft smile.

Sarah, who'd been sitting beside Jason, curled her tail gently around his leg.

"Dinner time," Celia announced.


	27. The sex

After about twenty minutes of eating and light conversation, Jason stood up. “I’m going to go get ready for bed now," he announced before walking to the door. He left his plate at the table, knowing that Celia would’ve gotten upset with him if he'd tried to put it away himself.

Sarah quickly stood up despite not being quite done with her meal yet. "Shall I help you, Jason?"

He shook his head. “I can get ready myself. Finish eating, you’ll probably have a long day tomorrow,” Jason said before leaving, going to his bedroom and changing into his sleeping clothes.

With a sigh, Sarah back down at the table. "Fine. Just let me know when you're ready for your nightly routine."

After Jason was gone, Celia asked Sarah, "You're certain you're not getting feelings for him?"

"Yes, Celia!" Sarah lied.

After about ten more minutes, Jason walked a short distance back down the hall and said just loudly enough for them to hear, “Ready!” before quickly heading back to his room.

Sarah excused herself from the dining room table when she heard the call and hurried to Jason's bedroom. She walked inside and locked the door behind her. "No making me spray this time, got it?" she said playfully.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason laughed softly and invited her into the bed with him by holding up one side of the blanket for her.

She slowed down some. "Wait... You want me to get into bed with you? And do what?"

“Oh, I just, um...” He would be lying if he said he wasn't expecting more than just the nightly routine, but he quickly dismissed the thought. “I just figured it’d be more comfortable or something… Sorry, never mind.” He quickly set them blanket back down.

"Jason, I'm ok with doing whatever you're comfortable with doing. You just said back there that you weren't comfortable with actually having sex, so I figured I was just going to masturbate you now."

“Oh… Well, yeah… can we do that...?” Jason asked nervously, looking up at her as he sat up in the bed

A smile spread across the skunk's face. "Of course we can, Jason," she said sensually as she walked beside the bed and joined him in it.

Jason smiled as she did, her tone of voice setting the mood as he scooted closer to her.

She turned over onto her side to face the human. "You think you're ready for this?" she asked him.

“I don’t know. We’ll see I guess.” Jason leaned in gently and kissed her cheek.

Sarah blushed. "Alright, well let's do this. I assume you're just as inexperienced as I am?"

“Yeah I am...” Jason said with a slow nod. Looking over her shoulder again to make sure the door was locked. “You seemed to have a bit of a better idea than I did, though.”

She laughed. "I have no idea where you got that idea from." Making eye contact with Jason, she then slowly lowered a paw toward his waist and began feeling around for his dick through his pajama pants.

He let out a light moan as her paw drifted across his member. He pulled his pants down so that she could feel his bare length.

She slowly took ahold of the dick, having never felt one before. She chuckled some, "It's so weird to imagine my sister has stroked this very same thing..."

Jason laughed softly and shrugged, not sure what to say about that. He just sat back, letting the skunk get a feel for it.

"Would you like to feel me, too?" she offered before reaching under her outfit's skirt and removing her panties.

He blushed and nodded, reaching down and gingerly feeling between her legs. His face blushed a deep, hot red.

Under a heavy amount of fur, Jason felt distinct folds between the woman's thighs. He also felt a small amount of moisture on them. Sarah gasped softly as he started to make contact.

“What um… What do I do?” Jason asked as if there was some sort of manual to how it worked. The human started to form a picture in his head of what he was feeling.

She giggled. "I assume this is the part where you fuck me. Are you ready to? Or wanna take it slower?"

“I… I think I'm ready...” He says, nervous as hell. He gently caressed her pussy lips one last time before pulling his hand away.

She smirks. "If you say so, 'Master'~" she said teasingly. "You should probably get on top of me."

Jason blushed and nodded, carefully shifting around on the bed so he’s between her legs. Both of them were still wearing most of their clothes, minus whatever used to cover their crotches. Gingerly moving closer, he planted a firm kiss on Sarah’s lips, inhaling sharply as he felt the tip of his cock touch the wet fur.

Sarah gasped so loud at the first contact that she had to cover her mouth to avoid any further noises coming out. This was so exciting for her, and Jason hadn't even entered her yet.

Carefully moving forward didn’t take much effort. The slick juices that soaked her outer folds coated his length, making it easy for the human to slide more of his length inside. His breathing grew heavy as he felt her walls clenching down around him.

Through Sarah's paws came gentle moans, growing rougher by the time Jason's entire length was nearly inside her. As she felt Jason nearing the end of his length, however, she grew greedy and suddenly wanted him deeper. Taking her hands off her own face, she placed them on Jason's ass and pressed on it to push his waist tighter into hers.

Jason took a sharp breath as he felt her soft paws on his ass pushing him deeper into her. Moaning lowly and starting to move faster, his length slid deeper inside of her tight tunnel. His eyes squinted as the hot pleasure washed through his entire body.

As he slid all the way inside her, Sarah again let out that involuntary whine-purr. Her eyes still shut from the immense pleasure, she lifted her head up and, for some reason, started licking Jason's forehead.

Jason didn’t take much notice other than the slightly rough texture of her tongue. He wasn't about to stop her, so he just kept going. Breathing loudly through his mouth, Jason moved his arms. Using his elbows to hold himself up, he placed his hands on her soft bust, carefully massaging her breasts.

As Jason kept up his heavy breathing, Sarah kept up her random licking all over his face. Seemingly getting careless with where she aimed her tongue, she abruptly found herself licking the inside of his mouth.

Jason lurched back once he felt her tongue invade his mouth. “Sarah, why are you doing that?" He huffed out as he slowed down and looked at her, not appearing amused.

She opened her eyes and gasped. "Oh my gods, Jason, I'm so sorry. I-it's another thing that furreds do. We kind of have this compulsion to groom each other when we feel really close to someone. I'm so sorry, this must seem really weird..."

“It’s fine, just… Don’t lick my mouth again please.” He chuckled softly and playfully licked her cheek. He then slowly started to resume the pace he was at previously.

A deep blush was across Sarah's face now. She nodded in agreement, but knew full well she'd be restricting all her furred urges for the rest of the night, too terrified of freaking out Jason again. She simply relaxed back a little further and shut her eyes again.

After maybe a minute, he noticed she didn't seem as passionate anymore. “Sarah… I don’t want you to just stop...” Jason mumbled in a gentle, concerned tone. “I want you to enjoy this too.”

"I-I am enjoying it!" she insisted. "You're really good at fucking!" ...Gods, that could not have sounded more awkward, she thought to herself.

His face blushed a deep red, but he nodded. Jason let out a stuttered moan as he started to go faster, feeling his climax welling up.

Sarah started to moan now as well. Her cries grew louder and louder in step with Jason's pace.

Jason’s mind wandered for a few moments, knowing damn well that Celia would be able to hear them in the large, empty house. Their moans were probably echoing through the hallways.

Jason would be taken out of his little trance, however, as he felt two sets of blunt claws rake across his back as Sarah started to give in to her instinctual lust again.

“F-fuck~!” Jason moaned out, the pain getting disguised as sharp pleasure as he felt his speed pick up for a moment.

Jason's speeding up only caused more pleasure for Sarah, who in turn went in for a second round of claw-dragging. Behind her eyes there wasn't even much of a woman left anymore, just a horny skunk loving what it felt like to be fucked.

“S-Sarah I’m g-gonna...” He barely got out those words before it felt like fireworks went off in his head. Hot, thick bursts of his hot cum shot deep inside of Sarah. Feeling the pleasure swell up inside him, he didn’t just suddenly stop; He carefully and slowly brought his thrusting pace down to a slow crawl. He laid his head on her shoulder as he painted loudly.

Sarah's moans turned into extended whines as Jason came into her. She threw her head back as her body was pumped full of Jason's cum, her tail twitching side to side between her legs with each thrust he made.

Slowly, he calmed down. His breathing settled down to try and get him back to normal as he stopped and leveled himself out against her. His hips pressed tightly to hers as he tightly hugged her.

She purred gently in his ear as he lay flat on her. Her long, fluffy tail came up and laid itself against Jason's back.

He let out a soft sigh of pleasure, nuzzling into her soft neck.

Sarah then started to playfully nibble at his ear.

Jason sighed happily, kissing her neck. He felt himself starting to get drowsy.

"Mmmmm... You enjoy~?" she asked.

“Just a little~” he said playfully and laughed.

Just to get back at him for that little joke, Sarah bit down on Jason's ear with a little bit of pressure.

He let out a soft whine as she bit down. “Sorry, sorry! Yeah, it was great!!”

She giggled and released her bite. "That's more like it~!" the skunk teased.

“Just don’t spray~” he teased her and closed his eyes.

"Oh, I'm trying my best not to~!" she teased right back. "Oh, and pull your dick out of me before it gets stuck there, heh."

“I don’t think it’s like glue, but alright.” He laughed softly and slowly pulled himself out with a soft huff.

She sighed. "I suppose... I suppose I should go to my own room now..."

“I don’t see why you can’t stay...” Jason quickly said, not wanting to be left alone after such an intimate moment.

"But Celia will start thinking things, Jason..."

“Ah… Alright...” He sighed and gently moved off of her. Laying down beside her and looking towards the skunk, Jason planted a loving kiss on her cheek.

Sarah stood up out of bed, bent down to grab her panties, and slid them back on. "Sleep well, Jason..."

“You too, Sarah...” Jason mumbled as he watched her start to leave the room.

Her tail wagged gently behind her as she walked out and shut the door.

He sighed once the door shut and rolled over to face away from it, shutting his eyes and falling asleep shortly after.


End file.
